Kid Icarus: Heirs of the Light
by Circle of Justice
Summary: [AU] Pit finds a necklace that glows whenever he touches it while thinking about Dark Pit. He asks him to come visit, only to find out that it shines in his hands as well. Palutena assures that it is a gift from Aphrodite, that is there to unite them. Little did they all know, a darker future looms over their dimension and threatens to swallow it, like all of the others before it…
1. Prologue

_**Hello everyone! I hope you'll have a good time reading this fiction; this is my very first one in this fandom and I look forward to your comments. I recently watched again let's plays of Kid Icarus: Uprising and renewed my strong love for its characters and universe as a whole.**_

 _ **Here's a not-so-quick note about the universe of this fiction: Since it is an AU (which means, in short, Alternative Universe), I will give you the few main elements I can without spoiling the fun. You know how Viridi talks about 'multiple dimensions' in SSB's Palutena's Guidance, depending on Pit's actions—and going even beyond that, by extension? Well, this story is basically based off of that: it takes into consideration multiple worlds, which met multiple different fates with multiple different storylines. But don't let that scare you off, I think I made it rather fun to read x)**_

 _ **Now I don't want to go into too much detail, for it would ruin the surprises ahead, but let's say that Pit and Dark Pit's situation is different from what it is in the game. You'll see what I mean during your reading!**_

 _ **Anyways, I've talked enough; I'll leave you to it! You should like it, I think :)**_

 _ **Don't hesitate to leave a little review, I take any criticism with great pleasure! Plus, I love to exchange with you guys, that's the point of sharing our stories, right? ;)**_

 _ **Yours truly, Circle of J.**_

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 **Disclaimer: ****I do not own the characters from the Kid Icarus series. The deities mentioned are taken from Greek Mythology, remastered the way I imagine them. What I own, on the other hand, is the plot.**

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 **Kid Icarus: Heirs of the Light**

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 _Prologue_

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"Been an eternity since I've last been here," was all he could find to say at the sight of the glorious palace of Skyworld.

 _"Yeah, more like, a_ week _…"_ Viridi said, grunting, and the dark angel rolled eyes. What did he expect from her? No more, no less; she was always like that. _"Anyways, Pittoo, you'll tell me when you're ready to come back. We have lots of things to do, so don't wait around!"_ Dark Pit shook his head at that, exasperated. His hands on his hips, he watched the palace from afar before his eyes darted towards a bench he knew so well. He couldn't help but smile at the sight of it, and went to sit on it, folding his arms and losing his ruby eyes in the sky.

It was a warm, sunny day, with not a single cloud out in sight. Birds flew over the Heavens up to a pond in the center of the garden. Such spectacle shouldn't have felt special in any sort of way to him; after all, he'd been working for Viridi for around two months, he was accustomed to the sight of nature. However, witnessing the birds' easy flight in front of such a glorious, magnificent palace, and such a landscape in general felt special in itself. The light flutter of the birds' wings, the soft breeze that pushed through their feathers… Quite a supernatural view, if he dared say so. Being the skeptic that he'd always been, he would never admit to enjoying such a day around Palutena's castle. First off, he'd been dragged here by none other than the most annoying twin someone could ask Zeus for, and second of all, he did not have a habit of showing any appreciation towards anything as a general rule; he knew it could easily be perceived as a weakness, or well, a way to make fun of him anyways.

Dark Pit looked out in awe to that castle, still sitting on that bench that he had rested his hands on. He loved being in Skyworld, the atmosphere was so relaxing, even though it was under the attendance of Palutena. They didn't like each other at all, their recent friendship had already been compromised. Dark Pit frowned at the thought, when a bird made its way towards his bench and landed next to his hand. "Well, hello there," he greeted the animal, a smile across the lips. "You saw how lonely I was, hm? Don't you worry. I'm used to it."

The bird twitted and its dark eyes fell on Dark Pit. It was bright and colorful, with light blue feathers mixed with red and violet ones. Its beak was of a light yellow that reminded the dark angel of a literal sunray. His eyes widened as he looked at it bouncing over to get closer to his hand, and hesitated to move at all. He didn't wish to scare it off. Staring at the bird, his thoughts wandered off and he remembered the good times that he had spent in Skyworld, sitting on this very same bench. He could feel blue, wide eyes looking at him while he sat down, reading a story aloud since the idiot couldn't read on his own. He could almost perceive the slight brush of his twin's fingers against his own, and his face flushed at the thought. He quickly recoiled his hand, startling the bird which flew off in fear.

Dark Pit rolled eyes, thus hiding his disappointment, and decided that he had wasted enough time, standing up. He turned towards Palutena's palace, wind caressing his face and pushing his raven bangs off of his face. He still couldn't find the courage to take a step forward. He felt somewhat uninvited, perhaps that was because of the Centurions' looks on his person. They did not really approve his arrival, they hadn't ever; they always claimed that the darker version of Pit was a threat to the Light they represented. Dark Pit rolled his eyes again and shook his head, pissed off by the thought. _Why do I care anyway?_ he thought to himself, clicking his tongue and lowering his eyes to the shiny, rocky pavement on the ground beneath his feet. _There's only one person's judgment that should affect me in any sort of way: Pit's… For… whatever reason it may._

Thus reassuring himself, Dark Pit took a few steps towards the palace. Much to his surprise, the entrance's doors flew open as one tiny flightless white angel ran out, rushing towards him. Two solutions occurred to Dark Pit as he watched in fear his twin about to take him in his arms: fleeing or well… fleeing. There did not seem to be much of a choice there, after consideration… Though he was sick of running away from Pit—and also from himself. So, instead of turning back and flying off to Viridi's Sanctum, the dark angel braced himself for impact. Pit's body crashed into his', but he was fortunate enough not to fall back and ridicule himself in front of an entire crowd of Centurions. Dark Pit stood his ground and pushed the other off of him with all the might that he'd have accumulated during his numerous battles over the last months. It had the effect he'd wanted it to have: Pit pouted and stepped back, rubbing the back of his head and blushing a little. As Palutena would have said, 'He embarrasses easily', so Dark Pit really did not look for any other meaning in that flash of red on his twin's cheeks—although he thought he… wanted there to be something else. Maybe. Nah…

Pit looked up after a moment of silence and decided to open that mouth of his': "H-Have your flight been… good?" he tried to ask, as though nothing had happened, though he was still uncertain. He glanced off, expecting a harsh comeback, even if the simplicity of his question was almost laughable.

Fortunately for him, Dark Pit only nodded and went back to staring at the white-winged angel he had in front of him. _He'll never cease to be a child in nature_ , he thought as a little smirk appeared on his lips. That was not something he was begging for to change. In fact, he'd grown to miss this attitude, this clueless character, this easy-going twin that he was separated from for a little over a week. _Why do I feel the need to emphasize on the fact that it was only a week?_ he wondered. To be true, it felt more like centuries. The two angels, although they despised each other at first glance, had grown quite fond of each other over time. They were still rivals—in many ways—but at the same time, they were buddies. Friends. Brothers, if he dared say, although the thought of it ached his heart. Despite their arguments and Dark Pit's utterly detached attitude, they knew they could count on each other, that they had each other's back no matter what they needed or when. Even in the middle of the night, if Pit needed him, he'd rush out to be there.

Pit eyed at Dark Pit, wondering why he had been so silent, and slightly hesitated before innocently grabbing him by the arm and pulling him inside the palace. Dark Pit recoiled when the other touched him, however when the light angel wrapped his fingers around his wrist, he didn't draw back again. If he was quite honest with himself, he didn't loathe Pit's touch at all. Plus, he was sort of curious as to why the angel of light had hurried him to come. Despite having asked several times, Dark Pit still had no clue what Pit wanted to show him, but it seemed important enough for him to inform Viridi herself—even though everyone knew that they despised each other very dearly— _No they don't, they really don't_. He had begged her to ask Dark Pit to come right away, and so he did, even though he had several other things to attend to. Dark Pit blushed slightly and looked off so that Pit didn't see his flushed face; anything could wait if Pit asked him to be there.

They both entered the palace and, to Dark Pit's surprise, Palutena was nowhere in sight. Her throne was empty, and there was no sign of the Goddess of Light in the corridors that they walked through in order to reach Pit's room. Strange, though he'd not worry, since he clearly didn't want anything to do with her anyways. The less he saw her, the best he felt. Pit opened the door to his room, which he somehow always kept closed, and went to sit on his bed. Dark Pit frowned and decided that he'd stay away for the time being, standing next to the door and resting his back against the closest wall. There was a glisten of worry in his twin's sapphire eyes, which he particularly hated, but he kept it for himself, trying to control his heartbeats. He had been waiting to be in Pit's room again. They used to spend time there as well, talking about anything and everything whenever Pit had a day off his usual duties.

Dark Pit couldn't hold back a smile at the memories coming back to his mind. They both had shared so much… Sometimes, he wondered why he kept lying to himself. Steering him away from his thoughts, Pit gulped and expressed the reason behind his request for Dark Pit to come: "Sorry I got you to hurry over here, I know you probably have thousands of things to do! It just couldn't wait any longer!"

"Alright, then tell me? Or may that be too much to ask? I think we've wasted enough of each other's time," Dark Pit growled before rolling his eyes, _trying his hardest_ to seem annoyed. Why did he keep his nonchalant attitude when he was speaking with Pit? Everyone knew for sure that it was fake. However, the light angel still seemed to be oblivious to what was happening. Although… was it really _that_ surprising? No. No, it wasn't.

Pit nodded at that, then leaned towards his bedside table and rummaged through one of its drawers. He took out what looked like a necklace and let it rest in his palm, much to Dark Pit's confusion. The necklace had a heart-shaped jewel hanging on it, and the chain itself seemed weak and rusted. Where'd he get that? First, what was _that_ he was talking about? A stupid piece of jewelry? That was what he made a fuss over, forcing Dark Pit to hurry to Skyworld? Or was this just a joke? Since when did his—Pit even understand humor? Dark Pit looked just as perplexed and upset on the outside as he was within. _What in the Under—_ "I found that in a city of the Overworld," Pit started to explain, his eyes completely mesmerized by the necklace he was handing to his darker twin, holding it by its chain. The pink stone dangled from left to right, like a pendulum. Dark Pit furrowed his brows, about to literally explode in anger, but Pit did not give him the time to complain—the Gods knew it'd take him forever to stop if he had the bad luck to get started… "I felt somewhat drawn to it, isn't that weird?"

"Pit, you're worse than a woman: all that shines catches your eye," Dark Pit replied, smirking, then he crossed his arms against his chest. He could not help but feel a little proud when he saw Pit's eyes shifting to the ground, ashamed. His heart stung because of it, but the dark angel only gritted his teeth and fluttered his wings in frustration. In order to focus on something else than the growing pain in his chest, he continued: "That barely surprises me. But anyhow, tell me what you find so strange about this thing."

"Here, I'll show you, that's even better."

"Good idea, you've always sucked with words, Pit-stain."

"Hey! That's not a very nice thing to say!" The light angel squinted his blue eyes, a little hurt by the harsh words of his twin, but stood up and gave his necklace to Dark Pit. He set it right in the center of his hand, careful with the chain since he'd have hated for it to break. As soon as it touched the warm, light skin of the dark angel, the jewel started shining as bright as the sun. Dark Pit jumped and nearly dropped it, taken aback, however his red eyes focused on it and he frowned. How it was possible was the biggest question that haunted both of the boys' minds at the moment. What it was made of was also a mystery, however Dark Pit admitted that he was more interested in knowing there were any side effects to its glow. If he concentrated on the shining stone and looked at Pit right away, would he suddenly fall in love with the poor idiot? Or, would he loathe him? Would there be any change at all? _Well, if you 'fell in love', no, there wouldn't be—Shut up, heart. Shut up_ , he reprimanded himself, shutting his eyes. No, he wasn't in love, no, he wasn't.

In order to test his theory—and also evade the question of his feelings for Pit, as he often did, Dark Pit opened his hand and looked right into the stone. It did not seem to glow any less from that action, so it was good to know that he was not absorbing anything from it—at least, light-wise. Now did he feel different? No, he didn't think so. He felt just like his usual self, maybe a little more confused and angry than usual but aside from that… He knew why those feelings lingered, it had nothing to do with the jewel. It had to do with Pit wasting his precious time. Though he wanted to have some fun, since he basically came over to Skyworld for no reason: he was going to play around with Pit a little. Just for the sake of making fun of him— _That's what you tell yourself._ Dark Pit blinked and slowly raised his head, glancing at Pit. He let out a loud, maybe overdone gasp, and his face flushed when he plunged into the light angel's blue, wonderful wide eyes. That, he didn't need to fake: he had always loved those eyes… "Oh Pit~!" he cried out, in a rather theatrical way.

Pit frowned, wondering what was happening to him, and cocked his head to one side. "Pittoo, what's happening?"

"Did you do something to your hair?" Dark Pit played along, laughing internally but keeping a shocked, enamored face on the outside. This was just too hilarious, he couldn't stop now. He'd go to the very bottom of it, to test Pit's limits. "You look so attractive~!"

The angel of light blushed and brought his hands to his chest, as though protecting himself, then he dived right in Dark Pit's gleaming ruby eyes. He slightly parted his lips, not knowing what to say, and eventually he grabbed the necklace out of Dark Pit's hands and spun around, folding his arms. All of a sudden, he looked a lot angrier, as though he was hurt by the dark angel's little game. He pouted and eyed at the necklace, his back to Dark Pit. "That's not funny, you heartless prick!"

Dark Pit snickered and looked off to the side, feeling his own heart beating faster than it should've. He cursed under his breath, victim of his own game, and put his hands on his hips. "'You heartless prick!'" he mocked Pit, before laughing. "What did you expect, stupid? It's just a glowing stone, how'd it make me fall in love with you?"

"I just, I don't know, okay? Since it's magical, I thought that perhaps, it could've unexpected effects…"

The dark angel raised an eyebrow. "Well, I thought the same, but there's nothing. I'm out of here."

Pit looked at him with big,desperate eyes, then Dark Pit's eyes landed on the necklace that the light angel was holding in his right hand. He noticed that the light had changed: it had turned to a light tint of blue instead of deep purple. What could this mean? Maybe there was something more to it then. Perhaps it really held some kind of magic… Before he had time to give it a thought, Pit went back to his bed and put the enchanted thing back in his drawer. He was still pissed off, by the look on his face, and Dark Pit cursed himself for that. Without a glance for his twin, Pit groaned and shook his head. After a minute, he realized that Dark Pit was still in the room and decided to tell him about how he discovered the peculiarity of his necklace—if that even interested him. "The stone did that after a while. At first, it was just like any other jewel, but then it started shining, mainly when I was… thinking about you."

"Uhm, right, I have questions?"

"Later, Pittoo, let me explain first. So after it shone the first time, I figured I should test it with you directly… Now it seems it won't stop shining at all," Pit said, seeing the slight glow that came from the closed drawer where he had just put away the necklace. Nonetheless, it was pretty strange that it didn't start lighting up before being put into Dark Pit's hand, even though Pit had been holding it in his own palm… Did it need something to trigger it? Could it be that it had some sort of a… switch?

Seeing that Pit had been silent for a good minute, Dark Pit sniffed and looked at him with a sharp glow in his red eyes. _Question time._ "How long have you been keeping this thing?" Dark Pit asked Pit.

"Well, it's been about two weeks," Pit started explaining, and his twin knew that he would keep going without him having to do much effort. Pit loved to talk. Much to his dark counterpart's disappointment, it still took him around a minute to get his words straight and open his mouth again. "I was on a mission with Lady Palutena, and then I fell down—Power of Flight issues… I was lucky that Magnus found me. He brought me into the town, since I had… lost my laurel crown, and… I found this in a street, like it's been put there just for me to see! Everyone walking next to it didn't seem to see it… So I decided to take it, that I'd gift it to Lady Palutena once I was back to Skyworld, but… then, it started shining."

"I assume you were thinking about me, _somehow_."

"Y-Yeah, was wondering how you've been putting up with all the changes," Pit answered, rubbing the back of his head again in embarrassment—which led Dark Pit to think there was more to it than the light angel dared admit. "I mean, since you've been on a new mission with Viridi and all... Kind of big changes, so I wanted to know."

"Mhm."

"W-What? You don't be-lieve me?"

"No, indeed, I don't," Dark Pit replied, then he narrowed his eyes at the other. He knew there was something Pit didn't tell him, his blue eyes never lied to him. Although he wasn't in the mood to demand explanations, so instead he waved his hand and sighed. "I'll let it slide this time. So, this thing glows when you think of me, and I seem to trigger it for some unexplained reason. Why not submit it to Palutena? Maybe she could understand where it comes from, and we'd be set to take action."

Pit glanced at him and seemed to feel even more embarrassed; maybe because he didn't think of that, silly as he was. The light angel opened the drawer once more, took out the necklace and brought it closer to his chest. It started shining even more, of that light blue shimmer that Dark Pit admitted to find appealing. After he raised an eyebrow, wondering about what Pit was actually waiting for, the light angel looked up at him with surprisingly tearful eyes. "B-But if… I-If I bring this t-to Lady Palutena, you…"

"I will go back to work, yes," Dark Pit completed his sentence, his eyes as unexpressive as he could manage them to look. It hit him hard to see those heavy tears in the corner of his twin's eyes, but never would he admit it. His heart started pounding again, but Dark Pit only growled and clenched his fists. It was really annoying… He pushed himself off of the wall he was leaning against and grabbed his weapon—namely, his Silver Bow—before heading right out. He had wasted enough time in Pit's company, and wanted to forget that he had seen his face. It was too painful to be away from him when he could picture those deep, blue eyes looking right into his rubies. Dark Pit furrowed his brows, his heart severely aching when he turned his back to Pit, but he couldn't take a step out of that room, for whatever reason. He wished to stay by Pit's side… _Fuck me, and those stupid feelings._

"P-Pittoo!" Pit called him out, and the dark angel stood next to the door, without turning around for that matter. Pit bit his lower lip and wanted to stand up and hug him tight, tell him that he would miss him, tell him to be careful and to keep taking care of himself no matter what—everyone was aware of Dark Pit's low interest in himself—but he couldn't find the strength to spit out one single word. He cared so much for his darker twin that… even words seemed futile. After a moment, and right before Dark Pit started walking away, Pit collected himself and managed to say: "Please, Pittoo, make sure you're okay."

"Why'd you care?" Dark Pit snapped at him, still turning his back to the light angel, then he shook his head to stop the flow of his thoughts. Pit was starting to get on his nerves, always showing affection towards him… He didn't want any of it, because it made him long for more—for words that the light angel would never direct to him. It was no secret that Palutena had way greater chances of getting to hear them, those three words that would shift Dark Pit's entire world. He snarled at the thought and teared up, quite fortunate that Pit couldn't see his face. "Now don't hold me back any longer with your sentimental bullshit. I've got work to do, can't keep the Goddess waiting."

"Right, you… should go…" Pit sighed in defeat, tears at the back of his blue eyes. He could hear the pain in Dark Pit's trembling voice but didn't mention it, for it would only anger the dark angel even more.

Tensed, Dark Pit did not look back and rushed towards the opposite end of Palutena's palace. There, he found the entrance and was just about to walk out when the Goddess of Light showed up, for the first time of the day if the look on the Centurions' faces was enough to draw a conclusion. They knelt down in front of her flamboyance while Dark Pit held the door handle, ready to walk out as if he had never been there. The last thing he wanted was to talk with Palutena; their last conversation was not exactly a nice and gentle talk between a Goddess and an angel—far from that, to be true. He shuddered as he remembered her words as if they echoed in his ears. _"You are nothing but a shadow, Pittoo: you are not meant to be alive. Why would I want to keep you near Pit? When you_ finally _disappear, he will be heartbroken and I do not want to deal with that."_

To be fair, he had been _that_ close to punching her after she had said that; she didn't have the right to take Pit away from him. He was his', and would always be, no matter what she thought about it. Dark Pit felt a hand on his shoulder and quickly recoiled, slapping it off of him. His sudden move nearly sent him rolling down the few steps in front of the palace, but he tried not to mind the danger he put himself into. Instead, he focused his eyes made out of pure rubies on Palutena, who addressed him a smile full of regret and sorrow. Maybe she only realized the weight of her cruel words. Whatever she felt, he could not care less; her behavior stayed imprinted in his mind and was not going to be erased that easily. The only way they could somewhat get along—or at least agree on—would be if she completely stopped talking to him and meddling with his personal affairs. His relationship with Pit was their problem only: she had no right to interfere, whatever reason she may find.

"Dark Pit," Palutena started, then she bit her lower lip and briefly looked off. Giving apologies seemed to her like the best thing to do, however… she did not like to feel like she did something wrong. Gods hardly admit their wrong doings; that was as true for Zeus as it was for a younger Goddess like herself. Her ego was too big, her lust for perfection even stronger. Nevertheless, she owed the dark angel that much: she had been unfair with him, beyond what any words could express. If she did not want their relationship—already complicated at the start—to worsen, she had to act and accept the fact that she… was wrong to say that.

Moreover, Palutena knew how important, how fundamental he was to Pit's wellbeing—and they could agree easily that it was what mattered the most in the whole Universe in their eyes. Dark Pit probably only cared for obvious reasons: if something happened to her little champion, it happened to him as well. Well, to a lesser degree, but still, it would shake his entire being. Palutena would not… think that there was something else, she did not truly think that Dark Pit was capable of feeling emotionally attached—whether it be friendship or _love_ for that matter—to someone, even as sweet as Pit. He was a lone wolf, he always said so himself. In his personality, he would never show any kind of interest towards anything or anyone. It would really surprise the Goddess if he was capable of loving someone, considering that she doubted he even loved himself to begin with.

"I hate it, I hate it. When you speak my name, talk," Dark Pit sighed, teeth gritted and arms folded. He stood in front of her, being more than patient even though he wanted to get away from her as soon as possible, while Palutena remained silent and stared into whatever void she was seeing. "I'd rather not stick around with you, if you catch my drift."

"I know we didn't have a great start but I was hoping to improve our relationship somehow," Palutena said, expressing her guilt. She gulped down the taste of regret that had lingered in her mouth ever since she had pronounced those insulting words towards Dark Pit. "If only you could give me a chance, I'd make sure to make it up to you. I want to see what Pit sees in you."

"And what do you think he sees in me?" Dark Pit retorted, smirking.

Palutena sighed, not really sure herself, but decided to take the easy route: "He likes you, there has to be a reason for it. I don't think he's imagining things."

Dark Pit scoffed and turned away. That was too much this time. He had wasted way too much time in the Goddess of Light's company and was heading out of there. Palutena didn't try to hold him back, she couldn't, because she knew she had been the one to ruin it all in the first place. Maybe she was too blind to understand what Pit saw in the dark angel, but she was looking to change it for the better, to open her eyes to what Dark Pit truly seemed to be on the inside, in his dark heart. Behind the mask of arrogance that he wore out in public, behind the mean words, the snaps, the anger issues, the disrespect for others… Was there a hidden face of pain, guilt, loneliness? Was he… protecting himself with fake self-confidence? That was highly possible, however she did not plan on getting him a few personality tests at the moment. Instead, she only wished to calm the heat down between them. For Pit's sake, if not for her own. "So if… If you'll forgive me for the words I said—"

"Fuck that. Did you see Pit's new toy?" Dark Pit interrupted her, because he didn't want to hear any of it. His heart, pounding in his chest, could not bear a single more syllable out of her mouth that he loathed so much, of her voice that made him tensed at the very sound of it. He clenched his fists and turned away from Palutena, eyes shut. He tried to contain the abundance of hatred he felt pumping in his veins. "I think you'd be interested in it. When I think about it, that'd be a fucking cute gift for his beloved Goddess of Light."

"It's not what you think! Pit and I—"

"Enough, I don't want to hear anything you have to say. Now go have your little happy ending with Pit, he's waiting for the love of his life in his bedroom! Meanwhile, Dark Pit, the clone, the _shadow_ , shall _go_."

Palutena couldn't help but pick up a tint of jealousy in his voice, in his back suddenly stretched, dark teal wings, in his hardened expression and frowned eyebrows. But she kept it for herself. Dark Pit shot her a death glare before running up to the garden and asking for Viridi to bring him back to her Sanctum. In a flash, he was already out of sight, only a small glowing purple dot in the skies. Palutena felt annoyed, but at the same time curious: what had he been talking about? The toy? What toy? Pit had never mentioned anything of the sort… What kind of toy was it, even?

As she started walking towards her captain's room, she thought about Pit's latest change in behavior. He'd been… absent-minded, to say the least. It wasn't like him to take everything so seriously. She could hardly pull a joke out of him when he'd always been so eager with his dumb play on words. He was… always sitting back, looking around and running from his room to the hot springs, pretending he really could use some privacy. She never thought of following him, but maybe next time she should; maybe she'd be less clueless as of what was happening in her captain's little mind. At first, she had suspected that it had something to do with Dark Pit, but perhaps she had been mislead in her judgment. Whatever it was, she was impatient to learn about it.

Palutena approached the room and knocked on the door. Quickly enough, Pit came to open it and widened his eyes when he saw his Goddess right there, standing before him. She'd never visit him in his room directly; more often than not, she'd just talk to him through telepathy and ask him to meet her in the main hall. The fact that she'd walk up to his room was… extraordinary, to say the very least! Not that she wasn't welcome, of course she was! Pit opened the door as widely as it could be opened and moved out of Palutena's way, bowing in front of her to express his deep respect towards her. "Lady Palutena!" he greeted her, smiling as always, but this time seemed… fake. Or maybe not fake, but… strangely uncalled for.

"Hello, my cute little Pit." Pit's cheeks flushed at the adjectives she had used, but the Goddess only laughed. Then, Palutena walked into the room and smiled at the fresh air that came from the open windows. For once, he had listened to her advice and made his room tidier. It was finally possible to walk without tripping on weapons or other crafts that he had found interest in—namely trying to replicate his favorite weapons with paper to see if they could work to play around with Dark Pit.

The Goddess of Light noticed a light blue glow coming from under the covers of Pit's bed, and as soon as she wanted to reach for it, he jumped in front of her and gently moved her arm. "H-How about we go for a walk? Around the… gardens? No—the hot springs! Don't feel up to it?"

"What are you hiding, Pit?" Palutena inquired, a bit more impatient sounding than she had intended to be.

Pit's wings lowered and he tried not to show his concern, but he had never been a good liar—not even a decent one, to be fair. His blue eyes were so expressive that, even if he tried to smile, she could still be able to read his embarrassment in them. Pit was to her like an open book; she had known him for so long, after she had adopted him following Medusa's first attack on Skyworld and its population, how could he think that he'd be able to trick her? She was the mother he had never had, and mothers had a certain instinct that told them when something was wrong. That was precisely what led Palutena to think there was something… unholy under Pit's blankets. Pit fidgeted with his hands. "N-Nothing! I'm just really eager for a good soak…"

"Come on, Pit, don't be like this. Show me what it is."

"Please, Lady Palutena, can we talk about this another day? I'm still not sure what it is…"

"Maybe if you show me, I can tell you, Pit," Palutena suggested.

The Goddess knew that she had convinced him when she noticed the light glisten in her captain's sapphire eyes. Yet, Pit hesitated but, after a brief moment of silence, his wings fluttered up and he jumped on his feet to reach for the strange necklace that he had hidden under his blankets when he had heard her knock. It was nothing more than a beautiful, heart-shaped stone that glowed in blue… Why was he so scared of showing it to his precious Goddess? Palutena did not see why he felt so cautious about the subject. She took the necklace in her hands and, as soon as it touched her skin, it stopped glowing completely. It remained there, an empty pink shell. Palutena frowned and looked at it closely, under the careful eyes of her captain Pit. It sure reminded her of something, but she couldn't put her finger on it… Finally, it clicked. "Well, isn't that surprising!" she exclaimed, amazed by the discovery. She knew exactly where it came from, and was delighted that it reacted to Pit's contact!

Impatient to have an answer to his lingering question, Pit bounced on his feet and looked at her with big, joyful wide eyes. "What is it? What is it, what is it, what is it?!" he asked repeatedly, clasping his hands together.

Palutena gave it back to him. "That's a gift from Aphrodite!"

Pit blinked. "The Goddess of Love? Why would she give me a necklace?"

The Goddess of Light, excited by what the gift meant, embraced her little champion, chuckling. "Aw, I'm so glad that it shines in your hands! That means that you have… _weird feels_ for someone. Now don't you, Pit?"

"N-No, what are you talking about?!" he answered, his face flushed at the thought, though he raised his hands in the air to prove his innocence. Why would he have 'weird feels' towards anyone? If he felt something for someone, it was probably towards Palutena herself! She was such a loving person, he'd never met someone as open and sweet as she was! Pit looked at the necklace and grabbed it again, but this time it didn't light up to his touch, which he felt glad about. Maybe all that was just a bad joke from Hades! Whatever it was, he knew he didn't feel 'weird feels' for anybody in particular but Palutena.

The Goddess looked at him with a wide grin. "It should light up on the two sides. Did you try it… with _Pittoo_?"

Pit blushed and the jewel started glowing again at the simple thought of his twin. Although that was enough to answer the Goddess of Light's question, she still wanted him to tell her what happened. Pit hid his flushed face in his hands, thus bringing the stone closer to his face. "Well, yeah… It shone in purple. That's kind of weird, isn't it Lady Palutena? I don't feel any sort of feels for Pittoo! He's always mean with me!"

"Sure he is~!"

"Lady Palutena, s-stop!"

Palutena nodded but her growing smile didn't fade for that matter. She should've known that something was up with these two, they always spent so much time together. She'd often see them clinging onto each other while Dark Pit read a story to Pit. However, she didn't know how she felt about it; she still didn't like the idea of the dark angel being closer to Pit… He had been a threat in the past, what if an evil force got their hands on him? Palutena knew he wouldn't be able to resist the urge to assist the darkness… It was engraved in his soul; he was meant to be affiliated with the Underworld. Even though Viridi had promised to keep him at her Sanctum in order to avoid it by all means, the two Goddesses still feared the darker twin's rebellion. It would break Pit's heart if he turned their back to them and helped wreck the human world. Palutena sighed at the thought: she had dreaded that moment for months. She couldn't resolve to let the two be together, it would be way too dangerous for her angel. She couldn't risk losing him.

Pit gave a strange, confused look to the necklace that rested in his palms, and looked up at Palutena's broken, sad expression. Now, the light was out. No more shimmer, no more nothing, the stone looked similar to any other. Pit furrowed his brows and stared back into it: it was similar to glass, when he thought about it. Maybe it wasn't a natural stone? Well, it couldn't be either way, since stones didn't glow… It seemed like that one didn't either, in its natural state. It only did when he thought of Dark P—There it shone again.

The light angel shook his head, puzzled, and turned his surprised eyes to Palutena. "Why not invite him over another day, Lady Palutena? To find out what this truly means, because I'm a bit… confused right now."

"You're always confused anyways, Pit."

"Hey!"

"Don't sulk, Pit. How about that walk to the hot springs? It could help you see clearer if you put your eyes under the warm, delicious hot spring water, maybe?"

Pit's wings fluttered up. "Would that really work, Lady Palutena?!" he asked in sudden joy, his face bearing a beautiful smile.

The Goddess of Light chuckled. "No, it wouldn't, I'm joking around with you. Let's go now."

* * *

 _To be continued…_

* * *

 **Updated: 02/11/2019**


	2. Chapter 1: A Goddess' secret

_**Hello again everyone! I had time to write this chapter today, so I thought to upload it right now. I hope you guys are enjoying this so far, I try my best! Don't hesitate to give me your feedback, I always love to read your comments!**_

 _ **Enjoy this first chapter! This is where it all begins!**_

 _ **Yours truly, Circle of J.**_

* * *

 **Disclaimer: ****I do not own the characters from the Kid Icarus series. The deities mentioned are taken from Greek Mythology, remastered the way I imagine them. What I own, on the other hand, is the plot.**

* * *

 **Kid Icarus: Heirs of the Light**

* * *

 _Chapter 1: A Goddess' secret_

* * *

Dark Pit could hardly pretend that he did not think about that necklace during his next missions. Even Viridi seemed to have noticed that something was off with him, since she'd perpetually ask about what he did at Palutena's castle and if Pit had 'confessed' about… something that she claimed were feelings of love towards him. Every time she mentioned this absurdity, the dark angel rolled eyes and shook head; she'd never stop being obnoxious, would she? She kept trying to tell him to open up his heart, whether it be to Phosphora, herself and now… Pit. That's how far she's gotten with time. Sometimes, he wondered if she didn't try to get him with someone just so that she could spy on their… private sessions. Dirty creep.

The dark angel shivered but kept his composure, not wanting to let his enemy know of his uneasiness. The enemy was a classic, if he could say so: Thanatos, born from the dead like he so often was. He'd always been pretty awkward to be around but, this time, it seemed to have reached a whole new level of cringe. Indeed, the demon kept talking about how 'handsome' Dark Pit looked in his clothes soaked with purple goop—that was the closest thing that resembled the blood of the horde of Underworld monsters he had to fight to get to Thanatos. The fight itself had been one of the easiest: just a bunch of Monoeyes, Miks and Komaytos—nothing that Dark Pit couldn't handle. However, when it came to the boss fight, it was a different story: Thanatos was quite resistant, which sincerely bothered the dark angel, who had lost his patience.

Dark Pit gulped down the blood flowing in his mouth, trying not to focus on it too much, and shook his head again. Keeping track of his thoughts that drifted in all unwanted directions, while fighting off one of the commanders of the Underworld, was tricky. Right now, he needed to concentrate on defeating this… thing, then he'd have time to think about Pit and his glowing necklace—because no matter what he did, his thoughts always seemed to come back to him.

Dark Pit held onto his weapon, which was none other than his precious Silver Bow, and aimed a charged arrow at Thanatos, who was drawing closer by the time he had decided to attack. The commander of the Underworld forces laughed and vanished in front of his blinking eyes, only to teleport behind him and deliver a crushing kick in the angel's wings. Dark Pit yelped in pain, sent crashing into a tree, and moaned when his body lied on the ground, amongst the watery grass. It was raining, which made it even worse. The dark angel managed to pull himself up right before he could be kicked in the face and separated his Silver Bow into two identical swords. He slashed the God of Death with them, targeting his round belly since it was easier. Thanatos started floating in the air, like he often did, and turned into one of those things again: a snake with three heads.

Dark Pit sighed, watching his heavy breathing, and barely avoided a venomous bite in his shoulder. He swung his right blade, cutting through the neck of one of the heads, and quickly dashed to the side when another one of the heads attacked him. He briefly lost his balance because of the speed at which he had to dive to the side, and Thanatos took advantage of that to slither up to him and wrap his long, slippery body around the angel's legs. Once he was unable to move, the God of Death rose over him and attempted to bite him again, only to get a second one of his heads cut off. The remaining head dived forward, showing its fangs, and succeeded at biting Dark Pit in the arm. He hissed in pain and pushed the snake off of him with swift kicks in its body, jumping to his feet. Thanatos slithered up to him, launching himself towards the angel's arms, but Dark Pit dodged at the last second. The snake crashed into a tree trunk, knocked out, but the angel knew it wouldn't last.

Viridi noticed that Dark Pit had stopped fighting and cried out his name, sounding way less annoyed than she used to be. _"_ _Pittoo, are you alright?!"_

"I'm fine, Viridi," he lied, getting back on his feet and cringing at the pain in his arm, which was quickly spreading in his entire body. He felt rather numb, so much so that his sword dropped to the grass. He had barely felt it slide, but startled when he heard it fall. "Shit, I'm starting to feel strange."

 _"He bit you, didn't he?"_ Viridi asked him, definitely worried. _"I should warp you back."_

Dark Pit shook his head, though his vision was starting to get blurry. This thing was quick… He didn't know how long he could last with this burning sensation running in his veins. The snake started moving again, catching his attention, and three heads grew back, next to the previously remaining one. Dark Pit couldn't tell if there were four or ten at this point, taking a few steps back until his back bumped into a tree. He used it for support, hearing his heart pounding all the way up to his ears. His vision blacked out for a moment, but he shook himself up and grasped the blade he held in his left hand. Thanatos laughed, deeply amused by the sight before him, and launched himself around the angel's neck. His body wrapped around it, slowly squeezing it and preventing Dark Pit from breathing in.

The dark angel's eyes opened wide and he wiggled around as much as he could, in order to throw the snake off of him. He could hear Viridi screaming his name, swearing that if he didn't move, she'd warp him back to the Sanctum, but couldn't reply, even though he'd have loved to tell her to shut up.

Dark Pit shut his eyes, feeling his mind drift off, and slashed one last time into Thanatos' body. He managed to miraculously hit the head that kept the snake alive, and it fell into the grass, releasing the dark angel. Dark Pit stumbled on his feet, falling face first into the grass, and since it was wet it managed to wake him up a little. "N-ice try…" Dark Pit muttered, before he held out a hand to grab his fallen blade. Once he reached it, he wrapped his fingers around it and let out a pained sigh. "But you… need to… Ngh… "

 _"Pittoo!"_ Viridi was screaming in his ear, since she had briefly lost connection with him—to be fair, he was good at ignoring someone when he really intended to. Dark Pit grunted and tried to stand back up, only to realize that his body was a living pain in itself and that he couldn't move at all. He gritted his teeth, feeling his strength leaving his body, before he was warped back to Viridi's Sanctum in a snap of the Goddess' fingers.

A halo enveloped Dark Pit's silhouette before lifting him off the ground. He appeared in the main hall of the Sanctum, underneath the golden glow of the sun. The first thing that hit him was the delicious smell of the trees, the wildlife as a whole. The sun spread its rays through the leaves of the huge trees that surrounded the main hall of the Sanctum, and shone a wonderful golden-green light that made the atmosphere as welcoming and warm as an atmosphere ever could be. The Sanctum was filled with gold and orange colors, as it was already fall on the Overworld below; it changed according to the seasons, which Dark Pit found impressive, if not even fascinating.

The dark angel gasped at the sight of those huge, tall branches, and let his amazed expression fall when he felt a throbbing pain in his right arm, right where Thanatos had bit him. He then noticed a familiar silhouette kneeling down next to him, with a leaf in hands. Viridi. She was wearing her usual natural dress and had an orange flower in her hair; probably a lily, with its big, elegant petals. It was wide open, with vibrant colors, and it suited her blond hair quite well, he had to say. Though he despised having to compliment someone, Dark Pit felt like she deserved it for once. "Well, aren't… we luminous today… Viridi?"

"Now you're quite _brave_ to say that sort of things to a _Goddess_ , even more in that state!" Viridi exclaimed, deeply amused, and she rubbed the leaf on his bite mark. Dark Pit hissed at the pain that it triggered, but she only told him to soothe down and to watch his breathing. She had her free hand running through his hair, and the light, worried glimmer in her brown eyes filled Dark Pit with trust. He knew she would save him, she always had; that was the main reason why he was working with her. She had sworn that she'd keep him away from the Underworld, and he knew he could count on her.

Viridi smiled, satisfied with what she had done to his bite mark, and stood back on her feet. She joined her hands behind her back and a ravished smile spread across her lips. She briefly narrowed her eyes at him and giggled, just as the child she was pretending to be. "So," she started again. "How do you feel now?"

"I sincerely don't know how you do that," Dark Pit answered, and he jumped back on his feet. He felt way better, as though the poison had been sucked out of his body. When he saw her raising a hand towards him, aiming to check the state of his wings, he gritted his teeth and took a few steps back. "Hey, it's not because you touched me to heal me that you have to keep doing it."

"Aw, in a bad mood?" Viridi laughed, and Dark Pit rolled his eyes and grumbled. The only person that stupidly dared to jump at his neck, hug him, touch his arms, play with his hands and such things was Pit. He was actually the only person Dark Pit allowed to touch him in any sort of way; mainly because they looked the same, if it wasn't for their eye and hair color. _No, mainly because you like it when he touches you_ , his heart told him again, but Dark Pit only growled and sighed heavily.

Viridi's fingers brushed against his back and he shivered, standing straight and moving away from her. His wings did hurt, so he didn't want them touched. He tried to stretch them, but winced at the shooting pain that spread in his wing bones. Dark Pit clicked his tongue when Viridi insisted and pushed her hand away from him. "I'm fine, Viridi, though I am growing annoyed! I hate to repeat myself!"

The Goddess of Nature decided to drop the case and to move away with swift, agile movements that almost made her look like a snake. Dark Pit shivered at the thought; he had had enough of snakes for the next centuries to come. She glared at Dark Pit and was about to say something—probably her usual commentary that he loathed so dearly—when she stopped in her own tracks. She seemed to have remembered about one specific detail, and the way she was now staring at him, with a raised eyebrow, didn't exactly make him feel comfortable. Was it about Pit, _again_? That was the only name she ever pronounced lately! He started to think that maybe, she liked him way more than she was pretending to—pretending, because Dark Pit knew that she had a severe crush on the angel of light.

Right as he was, once again, lost in thoughts, Viridi stood before him and snapped her fingers in front of his eyes to catch his attention. Dark Pit blinked and gave her a mean glance in return. However, like usual, that did not seem to unsettle her. "Don't even think about snapping at me, Dark Pit! I wanted to inform you that, while you were on the Overworld, Palutena talked to me!" she said, eyeing at him to watch carefully his reaction.

Dark Pit cringed when he heard the familiar name and looked off, frowning and gritting his teeth to contain his anger. "And what'd she want?"

"She thinks she uncovered the 'secret' behind Pit's 'jewel'. No clue what this all meant, now that I say it again…" Viridi explained before rubbing her hair and shaking her head. She then darted a look towards Dark Pit, who stood there and watched her with empty, lost eyes. What were they all up to behind her back, hm? Why didn't she hear about that 'jewel'? For a second, she thought about asking her captain, however she quickly withdrew; he would not cooperate, even less when he was involved in some shady business with Pit and his precious Goddess Palutena… Asking him to elaborate would be beyond pointless.

Dark Pit brandished his Silver Bow and ran off to the entrance of the Sanctum, asking Viridi to grant him the Power of Flight. Viridi laughed out loud. "Are you serious? Let me check your wings first, you can't fly with wings all crumbled up."

The dark angel turned to her, sighed, and nodded in agreement. He had almost forgotten that he was wounded, because he was so enthusiastic at the idea of seeing Pit again. Viridi walked up to him, her hands glowing green, and she brushed her fingers against the soft, teal feathers of her angel. Dark Pit shrieked, deeply hurt, though he bit his lower lip and tried to suppress the urge to scream at the top of his lungs. He felt his bones slowly reconnect and solidify, which he was grateful for, but it was horrendously painful. The Goddess of Nature chuckled, told him to stop whining, and eventually took a step back. Dark Pit instinctively tried to move his wings, and when he was successful to do so, he couldn't help but smile. Viridi pointed towards the entrance of the Sanctum, and the angel nodded, making his way up to its edge. He gulped down his fear when his eyes landed on the void beneath his feet, and briefly spun around to look at the Goddess of Nature.

"We're ready?" he inquired, folding his arms. The only answer he ever got from her was the shimmer of his wings and the rapid flight that he began taking through the Heavens. "Thanks, Viridi. I owe you one."

 _"Nah, you don't owe me anything! Also, make sure to tell me what that's all about when you head back here!"_

The dark angel sighed—but agreed to do it—and flew to Skyworld, only to find out that there was nobody outside. Even the Centurions were out of sight, which he thought to be quite the unusual sight. He set foot on the pavement, at the same spot as he always landed, and inhaled the clear, fresh air of the night. The moon started to be more apparent as time went by, and the angel stared at it with glowing eyes. He went back to sit on his bench, grasping its edges, and lost his gaze into the darkening sky above his head. He felt way closer to night, personality-wise.

While he saw Pit as a ray of sunshine in himself, Dark Pit identified with the darkness taking over the light and slowly invading the sky to settle down for hours along. Thinking about it brought joy to his heart. He joined his hands, leaning forward, and squinted his eyes to see a horde of birds flying through the Heavens. Such a calming spectacle. After the battle he had been through, he yearned for a peaceful moment like this one. He closed his red eyes, enjoying the cool evening breeze on his cheeks, and exhaled. If only he had brought a book, it seemed like a perfect atmosphere to read. But he hadn't thought of it, he was there to meet Pit and Palutena.

Dark Pit shook himself up and went to the giant doors of the marble palace. He gently, silently opened them, cringing as they still creaked and announced his arrival. He wanted to remain unnoticed… Too bad for him, nothing ever worked out the way he wanted it to. In the main hall, which was devoured by somberness and held a somewhat gloomy atmosphere, he found himself to be on his own, once again. Palutena's throne, in the far center of the room, was empty, and the carpet on the floor was dusty. It seemed most peculiar in the castle of Light herself… Had something happened?

Despite his increasing fear, the dark angel walked across the room without glancing back and headed right to find Pit's room, at the very end of a seemingly never-ending corridor. It was just as dark in the corridor as it was in the main hall… Creepy. Never had Dark Pit seen such desolation around Palutena's castle before. Something had to have happened, it couldn't be otherwise. He dared hope that Pit was okay. Once at Pit's door, he noticed that it was half-opened, which was, to say the least, highly out of the ordinary. He'd always keep everything a secret, mainly his room that he considered was his sanctuary.

Leaving it open when he wasn't in it was a very, very bad sign. "Pit?" he asked, his throat feeling raw and dry. "Pit, are you there?"

While Dark Pit was starting to feel sick, nauseous at the thought that someone could have hurt his twin, he picked up the sound of two voices, away in the castle, that… yelled at each other? How surprising… He recognized easily Palutena's voice, since it angered him instantly, but the other was hard to describe: it was dark, deep, like a bear's growl. But at the same time, it felt feminine. He started to think about all the female Goddesses or else that he may have met that had such a voice and only one of them seemed fit to him. _Medusa._ Dark Pit's heart skipped a beat at that realization. Pit was nowhere to be found and Medusa was arguing with Palutena… Did the monstrous Goddess of Darkness hurt the light angel in any way? If she had only touched his hair, he would… Dark Pit clenched his fists and inhaled deeply. His brain couldn't register yet what was happening, not before he saw it with his own eyes.

Thus, the dark angel rushed towards the origin of the voices and peeked through the keyhole of the door to see what was going on. Indeed, Palutena was there, but he had no sight of the woman she was screaming at. His heart felt like it was about to implode from all the stress he'd been feeling from his arrival to then. He leaned forward to try and see the other woman but suddenly, a pair of powerful hands pulled him back. He jumped and took out his Silver Bow, aiming its purple, glowing arrow at… a strangely familiar face with deep sapphire eyes. His lighter counterpart blinked and raised his hands in the air. "Pitto—"

"Shhh!" Dark Pit whispered, covering almost instantly the other's mouth with his hand. Pit blinked, trying to push his hand off, clearly not understanding what his darker version was up to. Exasperated, Dark Pit sighed and let go of him, turning back towards the door just as the screams intensified. He made sure to keep a low voice when he said: "I wanted to listen inconspicuously, mind you."

"Incon-wha—"

"SHHHH!"

"Okay, okay!" Pit murmured, having trouble keeping his voice down but thinking that it was probably what Dark Pit wanted. Even though he didn't understand the word he had used there, if it even was English, he could guess that, since he himself was whispering, he was trying to hide his presence from his Goddess. "So we hide, watch and listen? That's what you want to do, Pittoo?"

The dark angel nodded at him and, much to their surprise, the door opened right away since Palutena was walking out. When she saw the two curious angels peeking through the keyhole, listening to her very secret and serious conversation, she gasped and stepped back. There wasn't anybody else in her room though, so Dark Pit frowned and flashed a dangerous, suspicious look at the Goddess. Palutena breathed in and gave a gentle look to Pit before pulling the two spies by their arm to the main hall, where she needed to talk to them anyways. Dark Pit tried his hardest to break free from her grip while Pit just followed her quietly, guilt invading his blue eyes that did not dare to lay on his Goddess. He couldn't believe that they had been caught spying on her… Where did he go so wrong? Was Dark Pit having a bad influence on him? Why did he even consider… He facepalmed.

Pit was capable of having bad ideas himself after all, he did not need to be under whatever influence he blamed… Palutena told them to stay where she had left them, which meant standing in the middle of the hall, and went to sit on her throne, calling her staff to her hand. Dark Pit looked off, annoyed, but decided to play along. Just for Pit, though. He had forced him to listen to the Goddess himself, so he could not exactly walk off and let him deal with it on his own—even if the idea in itself was extremely tempting. He bit his lower lip, he just about had it when the Goddess stood up and walk towards them. Pit knelt down to express his respect. Dark Pit just stared with anger, hatred in his red eyes. "I'd like you two to tell me what you were doing at my door, peeking in," Palutena began, very accusative when she set her eyes on Dark Pit. "Was it your idea to spy on me?"

"Yes, it was." The dark angel owned up to his action, with a little smirk on his lips. Now was the perfect time to be provocative. "What will you do about it~? If you were less secretive in your ways, I wouldn't have to do this." Pit raised his head and gave his twin a warning look, however the latter just shrugged it off. Still arms crossed and that insolent expression glued to his face, he challenged the Goddess who was frowning with a glance. Palutena shut her eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to contain the fury that was burning inside of her. Dark Pit tapped his foot on the ground, waiting for a comeback which never came. How disappointing. "Well? That's it? Can I leave now?"

"Before you do," Palutena said, incapable of keeping her glaring eyes off of him. "I wanted to tell you that I know where the necklace comes from. It's a gift from Aphrodite, it seems to unite the two of you."

"Ha!" he laughed, quite humorlessly. Who was she kidding? Aphrodite didn't have time to waste giving gifts to angels to unite them, he knew that for a fact. Well, at least, the Aphrodite he used to know didn't. Maybe she was different there? His heart ache at the thought, but he firmly refused to concentrate on it. Instead, he looked at Palutena, only to notice her serious expression. Panicked, he quickly turned his eyes towards Pit, who did not look any less convinced about what the foolish Goddess of Light was claiming. Dark Pit's face started to turn pale and his eyes darted off to the floor. There it was, he felt sick again. "Why are you two looking at me like that?!" he snapped at them, his wings stretching up from his scream.

"Because it's true, Pittoo!" Pit asserted, then he stood up and stared right back at his twin. He did not seem as mortified as Dark Pit truly was within himself. If anything, the light angel's cheeks flashed red for a moment after he had grabbed his twin's hand.

"B-But! N-No!" Dark Pit protested, however his words remained tied to his throat. This was no way to convince him that there was such thing. Dark Pit was nearly certain that there was something else to this, that they were looking in the wrong direction. Why would it shine to unite two people 'in love' when they were _not_ in love? That had to be the wrong angle… _Or maybe you should quit lying to yourself, that works too_ , his heart told him, and Dark Pit groaned. "D-Don't you see, Pit?! It's i-impossible! W-Why would we even—?"

"Why not, Pittoo?" Pit asked innocently, a slight smile on his lips and his eyes shining with delight. He had always kept the thought of them being together forever close to his heart—whether it be as friends or something more, whatever it was. As long as Dark Pit stayed in Skyworld and spent his days in his company, he'd be the happiest angel! Plus, he couldn't really tell why, but he felt thrilled at the idea of sharing something more with his darker version. He felt so close to him, so enthralled by his sight alone. Reading stories on their bench until the end of Time didn't bother him in the slightest, quite the opposite: he looked forward to it. He kept the feeling of Dark Pit's lips on his' very dearly in his memories. They only kissed two times before, and his twin always said that it was just to bother him, but… Pit somehow wanted it to be more than a game. The light angel entwined his fingers with Dark Pit's, not minding the fact that he quickly recoiled, like burnt. "Why does it seem so uncanny?"

"Pit, do you even—?" Dark Pit shook his head, shocked, unable to form a sentence. Everything in his brain was being turned upside down, shaken until it was liquefied. That couldn't be… He had never had such intents towards his twin, never! Thus, he was absolutely sure of one _fact_ : it could not be a 'gift' from Goddess Aphrodite. He just knew it, a weird… instinct told him that there was something eerie behind the very existence of the artifact. What it was, he had no clue, but if it had been the Goddess of Love, he'd never have felt this way… right? _Or are you just trying to persuade yourself again, Dark Pit?_ he thought to himself, rolling eyes.

Palutena walked closer to them and caught Dark Pit's attention when she took the necklace out of her pocket. It started shining when she put it in Pit's palm, of that light blue shade, and Dark Pit attempted to touch it at the same time. He had no idea if the thing would just blow up or if there would be any sort of change at all, but he felt like trying it. "Here, let me try something."

"What are you—"

"Just keep your hand up, Pit-stain!" Dark Pit snapped at Pit before he wrapped his fingers around Pit's palm, to make sure he would not just drop the stupid necklace on the ground. When he touched it, the glow turned a light but frank shade of pink, just like the former stone itself.

"Woah!" Pit exclaimed, amazed by the discovery and the reassuring light of the jewel.

Dark Pit pouted; he hoped that the cursed thing would explode, blowing up Pit's face along with it. That would have been reassuring, to so many extents, since it'd have meant he didn't have to deal with whatever was happening in his heart when he was close to that idiot. He was disappointed. The discovery that they made was intriguing nonetheless, he had to say. What could this mean though? Pink, just like the stone… Weird how the color was specific. Could this, after all, be a gift of the Goddess of Love to make them realize what they felt towards the other? _Now you're on the right track!_

Dark Pit gulped at the words of his inner voice and, as his saliva went down his throat, he felt a strong burning feeling down his trachea… An acid taste, as if he had swallowed a whole lemon without peeling it first. He nearly coughed to get it out, but Palutena looked at him with worried eyes—for once, she was caring at least a little bit about what he felt. "Are you okay, Pittoo?" she asked him and, for the first time in months, he growled at the nickname. "You're looking pale, do you need to lay down?"

"I'm fine," he sighed. "I should head back to Viridi. It's late and I've had a long day."

Pit smiled. "Then maybe you can sleep here?"

"I'm not sleeping with you!" Dark Pit snapped at him.

"Oh, I didn't mean that! We have a spare room, it would rest your wings to settle down for the night. Viridi will be understanding."

Dark Pit scoffed and turned away from the Goddess of Light and her precious angel. He looked over his shoulder, meeting the blue eyes of Pit, and said: "Have you ever seen Viridi being understanding?" Pit shrugged one shoulder and chuckled lightly at the question. Dark Pit couldn't help but slightly smile at his sight, before he turned back towards the doors of the palace and opened them. A gust of wind rushed in, freezing the three of them, but the dark angel didn't pay attention to it. Instead, he ran off to the garden, calling out the Goddess of Nature.

Soon enough, and while he was thinking back at everything that he had learnt, his wings started glowing and he took flight back towards the Sanctum. As he fluttered his wings, feeling the cold wind brushing against his delicate and highly sensitive teal feathers, he gave a second thought to the events he had just been a part of.

 _Why not?_

* * *

 _To be continued…_

* * *

 **Updated: 02/11/2019**


	3. Chapter 2: Rebellious souls

**_Hey again! I hope you're all doing good and that you'll have an amazing year! I am done with this new chapter, so I decided to upload it. That will probably put up with all the times when I'll be late… With college starting again on the 28th, the posting of new chapters—because of their length—will surely be delayed more than once… I appreciate this rhythm while I can hold it! ;)_**

 ** _Hope you like this new chapter! Tell me what you think in the comments!_**

 ** _Yours truly, Circle of J._**

* * *

 **Disclaimer: ****I do not own the characters from the Kid Icarus series. The deities mentioned are taken from Greek Mythology, remastered the way I imagine them. What I own, on the other hand, is the plot.**

* * *

 **Kid Icarus: Heirs of the Light**

* * *

 _Chapter 2: Rebellious souls_

* * *

Why was it so hard to believe? Pit blinked, staring at Palutena. Why did he feel so surprised? Now that he thought about it, it was only a matter of time until Thanatos came back to life. Hades said himself that he had a sort of pass… or card… that granted him that sort of privilege… However, could he really trust his words? The angel cringed, remembering that God who enjoyed to make fun of his gullible character all the time. Maybe there wasn't such a thing… It'd be weird, a card to escape Death over and over… Pit asked himself a crucial question on the subject: How much credit did Thanatos have? Coming back to Life so many times must have cost him a small fortune!

Leaving that aside due to Palutena's sudden seriousness, he wondered why Thanatos decided to come back only now and not before—when he was certain that he could've if he had chosen to. Pit knew very well, just like Palutena, that the Underworld forces never did something casually… Pit just felt like they were trying to start a war or something along those lines… But… Why did they attack _Dark Pit_ and not him—or even _Skyworld_ as a whole? The only time they attacked a human city—so directly appealing to Palutena's interest—was when Pit was invited to go and get some 'Nintendogs trainer points' with Twinbellows—he was starting to believe that he'd soon buy all the toys in the game's universe with how much he'd gotten. That was roughly two weeks prior, what had they been up to since then?

Why target Dark Pit and not the poor, defenseless humans and their easily inflammable cities? The Goddess of Light had told him that she thought they wanted to recruit him—argument that was apparently stressed by her conversation with Medusa. As she put it herself, 'Anybody would die to convince such a ferocious angel to join their army'. Medusa also claimed that the Underworld army was not the only one looking for Dark Pit's service: she mentioned Poseidon and Zeus, amongst other names that Palutena did not mind telling Pit about. To be fair, knowing that so many Gods were fighting over his twin made him aggro enough.

Palutena stood back, looking at her captain with a strange glow in her eyes. She seemed sad, heartbroken, and Pit got the message that she wanted to stay out of those affairs. That theory was confirmed by what she said after she had asked the last Centurions to leave the room. "Getting Skyworld's forces involved in the fight would only result in casualties; I think we've had enough of them with the recent Uprising—"

"Lady Palutena, you do not need to send out regiments!" Pit interrupted, fluttering his wings, then he clenched his fist with determination. Why send the Centurions? It was highly unnecessary! Pit was almost sure that with him and Dark Pit fighting together, even Hades wouldn't resist for long! He just needed to be sent there everytime Dark Pit was fighting, and that would be more than enough! That way, no Centurion would be wounded, and he was certain that he'd work through it just fine with his darker version at his side. "I can go! I can do it, Lady Palutena!"

"Pit, that's not an available option."

"Why? I'm perfectly in shape for—"

"We have said that after the Uprising, you needed to rest," Palutena reminded him, too bitterly in her taste but she could not help with the worry she felt inside her heart. She noticed that Pit wanted to respond, to assure her that he was up to the task, that he was not afraid and felt ready, but she raised her hand for him to keep his mouth shut. The Goddess of Light shot him a glance, one of those loving, caring and highly protective ones that only he received from her, then sighed and attempted to smile. Even though it was a massive failure, she still managed to convince the angel of her sincerity. The last thing that she wanted was to lose her precious Pit… They all knew that the Uprising had been awfully tiring for him, his body still needed the constant assistance of the hot springs. He couldn't leave to fight by Dark Pit's side; if anything, he would put himself in danger, and push his darker twin into taking risks to ensure that he would make it out alive. She couldn't allow that to happen, for both of the angels' sakes. "That was the agreement that we found, Pit. You would rest. You swore to me that, no matter the emergency, you would do that. Now isn't that right, Pit?"

Pit clicked his tongue, pissed off, and glanced away from his Goddess. He was careful not to let his disappointment show. Of course he'd said that, but it was almost three months prior to the current events. Was it so unbelievable that he might have changed his mind? Dark Pit was targeted… The stakes were too great for him to just stand there and watch. He understood Palutena's worry, it was totally justified, but… He couldn't abandon Dark Pit, he would die if he didn't help him. And he knew he could help him. Pit felt a sting in his heart but silenced it, keeping his composure. After he succeeded at masking his raging emotions, he raised his head and eyed at his Goddess. "So we should just leave him to die? That's the plan, Lady Palutena?"

Palutena shook her head and knelt down to be at Pit's level. She cupped his face and made him look at her in the eyes. "Pittoo is a smart angel, he can work through this on his own."

"And I should stand there and wait?"

The Goddess of Light felt the rage behind those words, and let go of her angel's face. The fire in his eyes was blazing; she had never seen him so upset about one of their common decisions. Usually, he would always side with her, never say anything to go against her orders. But this time, it seemed like something had changed in Pit, something had broken loose and threatened to steer him away from her. There was this wrath, this fierceness in his blue eyes that she loathed and feared. Maybe his dark side was manifesting? Spending time with Dark Pit might have triggered it somehow… "Pit, listen, I know you're anguished about this situation. But you have to understand that there is nothing we can do."

Pit's eyes glared into her own. "Nothing, you say? No, Lady Palutena, I'm not going to wait around while he's getting beaten up by enemies of mankind! We all know what they want, you said it yourself! They're trying to force him to be on their side!"

"Pittoo is smart, Pit, he will take his own deci—"

"NO!" Pit countered, overwhelmed by the intense fury he felt burning inside of him. "I am never going to let that happen!"

"Pit—"

"I will find him on the Overworld, and I'll save him—"

"PIT—"

"I can't let this go, Lady Palutena, they're threatening to kill him—"

"THAT'S THE END OF THIS CONVERSATION!" Palutena screamed at his face. Pit jumped and stood back on his feet, frightened. He had never heard his Goddess yell this way… She was always calm and collected, but there she appeared to have lost her temper… The angel gulped and stepped back, wanting to get away from her as soon as possible. Palutena stood up, glaring at him, but what he found in her eyes wasn't rage alone: there were heavy tears running down her cheeks, and her lips were trembling. Pit thought that he should reassure her, but that blazing passion inside of him wouldn't let him; he needed to save Dark Pit, no matter what Palutena thought about it. It was his decision. He had taken his decision. Palutena kept staring at him, her whole body shaking, and a sob passed through her lips. "I will not let you go on the Overworld, Pit. Never again. You will stay in your room, locked up for as long as you need to be until you get your thoughts straight."

"What?!" he reacted, shocked beyond words, and he recoiled even more. "You can't keep me here! You can't lock me up, you don't… you have no right…"

Palutena didn't reply and instead called her Centurions back into the room. She glowered at her captain, tears flowing down her cheeks, and asked that her guards take him back to his quarters. The Strongarms walked up to Pit, pulled him by the wrist, but he did all he could to fight back. He wasn't going to accept being treated this way. He wasn't going to accept being a prisoner of his homeland. Whatever the means, he would run away, he wouldn't stay there waiting for Dark Pit to get killed while staying locked up in his room. There was no way that Palutena could impose that on him. He had infinite respect for her, he loved her dearly, but she couldn't imprison him in his own castle, where he had been raised and trained his entire life. Pit fought against the Strongarms who managed to carry him up to his room. They threw him on the ground and quickly locked up the door behind them. The angel groaned, tears at the back of his eyes, and sprung on his feet in order to bang against the door. He screamed, begged, cried, but nobody ever answered.

After a moment, completely worn out by his attempts to call out for help, he let himself fall to the ground, sitting with his back against the door. He kept on whimpering, his face drowned in his own sorrow, before he looked around his room for a way out. He glanced over his shoulder, seeing his medallion, and pulled it off of his clothes. He clung to it, crying over it, and his eyes examined it thoroughly. It had been his gift from Palutena, when he decided to join her forces after he had saved her from Medusa. The images ran in front of his eyes, as though he was reliving the moment, and he eventually threw the medallion across the room in rage. The medallion fell on his bed, amongst the bedsheets, and Pit didn't look at it.

The light angel fell asleep against the door, feeling his heart pounding at the thought of everything that had happened. He was to be the prisoner of his land. He had a nightmare because of that thought, he imagined the Centurions and Palutena forgetting about him until he died in his room. Pit woke up, breathing heavily, and clenched his fists before slamming them against the doors. Still nothing, no footsteps in the hallway, nothing at all. They were purposefully ignoring him. Pit groaned and tried to stand back on his feet, considering his different options.

He was to be the prisoner of Skyworld. His blue eyes looked up at the open window above his bed. "No," he whispered, pulling himself up and running to get his Palutena Bow. He scooped up his medallion but refused to put it on, keeping it in his pocket instead. Determined, he climbed out of the window, heading for the stables. "I am going to be the traitor of Skyworld."

* * *

.oOo.

* * *

 _"Pittoo, I told you to watch where you headed!"_ Viridi yelled at him and the dark angel rolled eyes and cursed the bad luck he had to work for her. It had been twenty minutes of flight, and twenty minutes of constant screaming and raging on the Goddess' part. Dark Pit remained as calm as he could be, focusing on the crowd of enemies that surrounded him, ready to take him down for whatever reason they saw fit. Armed with heavy weaponry such as guns and blades that were taller than the angel himself, the Underworld forces did not joke around anymore. They came for him, he knew they wouldn't leave until they had what they wanted: his servitude—at least that was what he thought they were after. But Dark Pit was not one to serve others without seeing interests of his own.

He aimed his laser gun, loaded with what Palutena once called 'Goddess power', at a wave of enemies and clicked his tongue. This thing was heavy, too much for his taste but he had to deal with it. This gun was probably the most appropriate for the battle that awaited him down on the Overworld's floor: one of the Undies Besties, as he liked to call them to make fun of them, was after him—they were quite relentless when he thought about it. It had only been two days since the previous attack with Thanatos, and another one was trying to take him down. Hopefully, it wasn't Thanatos again… Dark Pit knew for a fact that the God of Death had been brought back to life, but he didn't want to keep fighting him constantly. He liked diversity, even with his enemies. For that matter, he had also chosen a weapon that he usually refused to touch: a laser gun, no less; they were the new kind of weapon that Viridi was still testing out.

Dark Pit had figured that a heavy weapon with high damage, such as the one he had with him, would be best for occasions like kicking the Underworld commander's asses. At least, it'd be more efficient than his beloved Silver Bow… With the little to no damage it had done to Thanatos, he didn't want to bring it in a fight such as this one again. He cared too much for his life. _What a shame that I don't know why exactly I care_ , he thought.

Dark Pit's wings stretched out, carrying more air to support him with this heavy thing, while he himself struggled aiming this gigantic gun that was around the size of his arm in length. When he finally found a way where he'd be sort of comfortable enough to fire it, a powerful laser beam disintegrated the entire troop of Monoeyes that was flying there, turning them into something close to 'pixie' dust, since it was purple-ish and glittered in the sun. For a moment, he wondered if putting some on his wings could grant him endless flight… Nah, that only happened in movies. What brought Dark Pit to reality was him nearly crashing down into a high branch. "Whoa there, tree, fuck right off!"

 _"HOW MANY TIMES—"_

"I got this, Viridi," Dark Pit growled; he wanted to shut her up already. To illustrate what he said, he charged his gun and shot another wave of flying enemies in one single purple laser beam. Seeing them vanish in one shot was highly satisfying, he had to admit. "See? I'm doing just fine, now tell me what you know about our opponent today."

Despite the fact that the Goddess of Nature hated being told what to do—mostly from an angel—she inhaled deeply and told him all that she knew: _"_ _It's our little friend_ _Pandora! Seems like someone's reviving those entities again and again… Hm, who's next, right?"_

Dark Pit snickered at the question and rolled his eyes, shooting off another horde of Monoeyes at the same time. "You know, I bet it's going to be Thanatos." Viridi laughed out loud and said that yes, probably, since the God of Death got himself killed every second of the day. Dark Pit cursed when his gun refused to load, wishing he had taken another one of these that wasn't still in its 'trial' state. He tried his best to charge another blast before he was being targeted by other Monoeyes that grew closer. He flapped his wings to slow his flight down, thus giving himself more time to charge, and glared at the creatures closing in. He aimed the gun towards them and shot them. They all disintegrated, which helped him relax. The dark angel started flying at high speed again, still struggling with this ridiculously huge gun that he could barely hold, and thought about something: "Viridi, I can't recall. Did I mention that Medusa has arisen?"

 _"WHAT?!"_

"Aw, guess not," Dark Pit smirked, enjoying the sound of Viridi choking in her words. Now that was satisfying, way more than charging up this stupid gun. After he had been back from Palutena's castle, Dark Pit had not talked much to his 'boss'—the notion was debatable but that was what she always called herself anyways. To be true, he had stayed enclosed in his room, thinking about the meaning of this glowing necklace and his possible romantic affection towards Pit. He refused to believe that he felt anything special for the poor idiot… He hated him, that was all he felt towards him. Of course, his heart kept telling him that he was lying to himself, but why'd he listen to that stupid thing anyways? He had time to think about all this, about their situation, when an idea had occurred to him, in relation to all events. He had made sure that nobody was aware of his thoughts though, since he was not certain yet. Giving false accusations was one thing he hated above everything. However, he was getting closer and closer to the truth. Soon enough, he would be able to take revenge on the Goddess of Light.

 _"Maybe it'd had been_ wise _to mention it!"_ Viridi screamed in his ear and he shut his eyes to help soothe the headache he started to get. _"Now what?! Medusa is out there, she could go on a killing spree at any given time!"_

"And Pit will stop her like he always does," Dark Pit assured, keeping his eyes on the enemies lurking around, sometimes hiding behind the leaves of some high trees to take cover and charge his gun—mainly rage for his gun to charge, to be fair. Then he added under his breath, bitterness clearly noticeable in his voice: "Because he's the hero and that's what he does best: stop the bad guys."

Viridi snorted and couldn't help with the urge to reply: _"You sure have a lot of faith in this so-called 'hero', Pittoo."_

"Okay, when you say shit like this, don't call me that," Dark Pit briefly snapped, but he did not let his feelings carry him away from the actual battle he was putting up with. He shot a few more monsters before his wings felt like they were literally roasting. "Going down, Viridi!" he yelled towards the sky, and the Goddess led him to a path—far away from all civilization—in the calm, deserted forest that he had been flying over this whole time. When his feet touched the ground, burying in the grass, he felt relaxed and proud of the fight that he had given in the skies. Those enemies were nothing but a joke, even though they had gotten noticeably stronger; one beam could still decimate all of them if they stood in a line, like bowling. He'd have thought that the Underworld forces would have gotten even tougher than that, after the events of the Uprising and Pit's blasting victory… Mistake on his part, but he had to say that it made his life way easier: Dark Pit could focus on talking while battling with those dumbasses. No concentration required.

The dark angel's eyes zoomed across the trees and found absolutely no threat lurking in the shadows. _Not there yet, I see,_ he thought to himself. He was just about to lay down in the grass and breathe in the fresh air of noon when he heard something creeping close to him, rummaging through the bushes.

Dark Pit raised an eyebrow and stared at the anime girl that was standing before his eyes; that was one thing she'd not changed. Still that long blue hair, those pink eyes with hearts in them… Still as ridiculous as she was at the Rewind Spring. Trying not to laugh out loud at the sight was hard for him: he hadn't seen anything more stupid than that in a long while. At least, it managed to lift up his spirits, as well as fill him with the urge to beat her up. "Well, who do we have here?" he smirked. Pandora played with her hair, running her fingers in a strand that she'd taken from her back, and shot him a challenging glance that only made him want to laugh even more. Did she think she was attractive in any way?

Dark Pit scoffed at the gesture and overheard Viridi's voice in his head—of course, she was jealous; they all were, for some reason. Even Palutena was uneasy when she encountered Pandora's anime self for the first time. The angel could only remember the fun he had witnessing the two Goddesses attempting to break down their own insecurities by criticizing Pandora. 'She just has better hair, that's all!' did Viridi say, he could almost hear it again.

 _"Focus, Pittoo! I know she's pretty but she's the e-ne-my!"_ Viridi yelled in his ear and Dark Pit winced in discomfort.

"Wanna get your ass kicked again, Pandora?" he said, crossing arms against his chest with his laser gun under his arm. He seemed a lot more confident than he really was; when he fought against a boss, there was always this sort of apprehension, this lingering feeling that, if he made one single wrong move, everything would go down hill and he wouldn't be able to hit them again. There was always adrenaline rushing in his blood and a slight fear that turned his stomach. Although sometimes it made him all the more excited, some others it was sort of crippling, since he could feel out of breath for no particular reason at all. However, he usually succeeded at hiding it. It was easy for him: a smirk, an attitude and the enemy wouldn't see anything! Piece of cake. Pandora flashed a smile and a long sword appeared in her hands, surrounded by a sort of pinkish steam.

Dark Pit frowned but shrugged it off. "Lost your tongue? You don't know how nice it is when you keep quiet."

 _"Now's_ not _the time for a conversation, Pittoo! Remember what she's here for! That's_ you _!"_

"I knew that, don't take that tone with me!" he snapped at Viridi, closing his right hand into a fist. He observed his strangely calm opponent and he couldn't help but add one last comment to push Pandora to her limits—if she had any: "I think she really is going to be quiet today. Anyhow, enough time wasted: let me at her." Not wasting any more time in trying to get a reaction from the seemingly numb Pandora, he brandished his gun, tried his best to charge the damn thing, and aimed it right at the woman's gut. She managed to avoid it by just jumping over it—with her newfound dynamism—and counterattacked with a slice on the angel's forearm. The blade was so thin that it was able to cut through his skin like paper, almost painlessly. Dark Pit didn't mind bleeding, a wound such as this one would not kill him. It actually made him more excited, if he could say so. The refreshing feeling of being beatable, of not feeling so invincible, was enough to drive him. _Always more fun to fight an enemy that can defend themselves_ , he thought.

Dark Pit returned the favor and grabbed onto his gun to shoot Pandora in the hip—and he succeeded to do so, since she fell back down with a deep moan of pain, lying face first on the ground. He dashed forward, in order to get closer to her, and was about to finish her off with a loud dazzling blast in the head when she moved away, barely avoiding fire, and crept behind him. Dark Pit jumped to the side, holding onto his gun which started to be too heavy for him, and tried to shoot her several times in a row but missing everytime. He cursed and attempted to load the gun again, however it had stopped working. Dark Pit gritted his teeth, irritated, and threw the thing on the ground before kicking Pandora in the stomach.

Pandora moved back, but she didn't even moan at the pain that she must have felt. Instead, she rose on her feet and evaded one of Dark's Pit punches. Viridi told him to hold on, that she was getting him a new weapon, while the dark angel pummeled Pandora with kicks in the chest. Medusa's commander fell to the ground, gasping for air, and succeeded at catching his foot which had been directed towards her face. She held onto it and pushed Dark Pit, making sure that he'd fall back. Taken aback, Dark Pit tripped and landed on his back, but fortunately he didn't crush his wings. He immediately got to his feet, still waiting for Viridi, when he felt a slight breeze behind him. He didn't have time to turn around: Pandora had already wrapped an arm around his neck and started to choke him, leaning his body against her own to restrain his movements.

The angel struggled to get free, wiggled around despite her arm tightly pressing against his throat, to no avail: eventually his vision drifted to black. Pandora wouldn't let go of him, squeezing her arm around his throat to make sure that he'd not be able to breathe.

The dark angel let out a pained gasp, his body begging for air, though there was nothing he could do. The weapon Viridi had brought to him was there, glowing, on the ground. If he could lean it, he'd grab it and start fighting again, however he was stuck. Pandora kicked the Rose Blade away from them, thus ensuring that Dark Pit wouldn't get to it, and strangled him even more. Even though he was not strong enough to fight off any longer, Dark Pit was still conscious enough to hear a familiar voice screaming at the top of his lungs: "Phos! Go!"

Suddenly, a ray of light flashed for less than a second in the forest, decimating trees and burning off the grass in a linear fashion. The streak of light had struck Pandora, who was now laying on the ground, knocked out right next to a tree. Maybe the hit had missed but the speed still managed to push her off violently, so that she went crashing against another tree. Though how come that Dark Pit hadn't been pushed as well? Maybe the hit hadn't missed after all…

Dark Pit blinked, sitting in the cold grass, and took the time he needed to get air in his lungs again. He moaned in discomfort, but gritted his teeth to suppress the pain from his body. He had longed for air so much that his lungs ached. The dark angel calmed down, breathed in slowly, then opened his eyes to the figure that held out a hand to help him up. "Pit?" he asked, incredulous, only to receive a hug in response. The embrace was strong and warm, even if the dark angel admitted that he loathed it. He hated physical contact… Pit liked touches, cuddles, kisses, but he needed to understand that, sometimes, other people didn't.

In spite of his efforts to hate him, Dark Pit could only find his twin's affection kind of heartwarming. Perhaps it wasn't so bad after all... "Pit, what are you doing here?" Dark Pit asked when his body had recovered enough to form a sentence without gasping for air.

 _"Dark Pit, you hear me? What happened, did you beat Pandora?"_ Viridi's worried voice called him out, and Dark Pit took some deep breaths.

"One minute, Viridi."

Pit looked at him, concerned, still kneeling down next to him with a hand on his darker version's shoulder, and eyed at the Lightning Chariot that he had brought with him. It was then that Dark Pit remembered that Phos was the name of one of the horses… Suddenly, everything made sense in his confused mind. Pit gently helped him on his feet and watched proudly as his twin was saved from danger: Pandora had vanished from sight. He had made it on time, he couldn't feel better about himself. "Pittoo, I was worried about you so I decided to come."

"Wait— _you_ decided? What about Palutena?" Dark Pit inquired, concern in his tired, croaky voice. _Lacking air can really fuck someone up_ , he thought to himself. "Wasn't she the one telling you to come here?"

Pit rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed, and Dark Pit's eyes widened. Was he serious? Wait, was it even what that glance meant? Maybe he misunderstood: Pit would never go against Palutena's orders, not even for him. Did he really leave Skyworld behind to come and save him—Was it even possible? Did he—Pit—captain of Palutena's army—push his responsibilities aside for a moment, just to make sure that his darker twin was out of a dangerous situation? First, did Pit even know what he was getting himself into? If Palutena knew that he disobeyed, he would be punished severely. He was the captain! Of an army! Protecting a whole city of angels! And a Goddess, no less! Did he run away despite knowing all of this?

Was he really that _stupid_?

With all of this in mind, Dark Pit nearly choked on his words when he asked: "Don't tell me that she wasn't—She wasn't, Pit?!"

The light angel bit his lower lip and looked off to the side, staring at the grass and collecting his thoughts. "Lady Palutena… doesn't know I'm here, and she shouldn't know," he answered, much to Dark Pit's surprise and worry. What had happened to the Pit he knew? Who was this doppelganger? It couldn't be true, he couldn't trust his ears… Maybe he was still knocked out? Or perhaps he misheard him? As soon as his darker twin opened his mouth—probably to curse, rage—Pit raised his hands in the air to surrender. "Don't snap at me! You don't know what I went through to get here!"

"But, but… PIT!" his twin snapped, victim of his own panic, before he clung to Pit's shoulders and shook him wholeheartedly. "ARE YOU INSANE?!" Though he was not concerned for Palutena, he felt beyond nervous for Pit! Did he have any idea of what he just did? Disobeying the orders of the Goddess he served—she even created him with her own hands… Wait, did she? No, surely not—but she was still his Goddess, he worked for her! How could he defy that? Did he get hit on the head and wasn't thinking right? What in the Underworld was happening to this young angel's mind?! Dark Pit shook head, dumbfounded, though he admitted to be deeply moved by Pit's initiative. Such a little hero… but absolutely crazy nonetheless! "Pit, wake up, are you out of your fucking mind?! You left Skyworld behind Palutena's back, what do you think she'll do to you when she learns about it?!"

"She won't!"

"Of course she will, stupid fucking moron! She's a Goddess! She created you!"

"No she didn't!" Pit countered, bringing his left fist to his chest. He frowned and shook his head, getting pissed off. "I don't care what she says!"

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!" Dark Pit screamed at the top of his half-filled lungs, his voice cracking up everytime he tried to speak louder. He faintly perceived Viridi's voice asking about what was going on, but refused to listen to her; knocking some sense into Pit's brain was more important to him at the moment. "You have no idea what you just got yourself into. You're a fucking idiot. Get back to Skyworld and tell Palutena that it was all a mistake, that you didn't want to leave but that… I don't fucking know, that I forced you to! I'd rather be blamed than have you fired."

Pit lowered his head and his face became somewhat darker… He did not care to listen to his words, nor did he move one finger to go back to the Lightning Chariot. Instead, he stood his ground, waiting for Dark Pit to pull him by the arm or beat him up to convince him—even _that_ wouldn't anyways. He was not leaving, no matter what he had to go through. He'd not abandon Dark Pit to his unfortunate fate when he knew he could play a part in this war and help him overcome the dangers. He would not leave for Skyworld and be imprisoned in his room again, he could handle this situation on his own. If Palutena was willing to keep him locked up, then he'd do everything in his power to stay away from her. Even though he missed her and loved her, he would never give up his own free will and wait for Dark Pit to get killed.

So, Pit stood there, straight, determined, but dark, frowning, looking off… awfully serious, all in all. Dark Pit blinked, at a loss for words since he had never seen his lighter version this way, and attempted to grab him by the arm to lead him back to the Chariot. "Don't touch me!" Pit recoiled, pushing him off with unexpected strength.

Dark Pit stepped back and glared at the lighter angel. He growled and glared at Pit, clenching his fists. Fine, he wanted a war? Then he'd get it. "Right, you're not going to cooperate. That's fine, I can kick your ass too."

"I'm doing this for you," Pit said before he looked back at his twin with tearful eyes, but his expression had not softened in any way. He gritted his teeth. "I know I can help you and that's what I'll do. If Lady Palutena doesn't let me help you, it's because she's scared I may fail; but I can't fail, not this time. I'm not finished, and as long as I'll be breathing, I'll protect you from these monsters, whether you like it or not!"

Dark Pit felt sort of moved by this speech but… at the same time, his concern was overwhelming and he did not want to deal with Pit during the following battles. He'd hate for him to be wounded, even if it were just a scratch on the cheek. He'd hate for him to be depressed because he decided to go against his precious Palutena and she took action to bring them both down… He'd hate for him to be killed. If not, he'd hate for him to witness Dark Pit's fall—he knew that, at one point or another, he'd be too weak to fight and would get killed by one of Medusa's men… That was inevitable: the Underworld forces were still the strongests he had to fight, with Zeus' army being ridiculously underpowered and Poseidon's forces very rare. The ones who would get his blood on their blades would be Medusa and her friends. And he couldn't allow Pit to witness it. "Look, I can't let you help me. It's way too dangerous," Dark Pit expressed himself, frowning. "Turn back and go back to Skyworld now, will you? I have work to do and hardly any time to waste."

Pit sighed and looked back at Phos and Lux, much to Dark Pit's relief. Perhaps he was still going, maybe he understood the stakes of his actions. _For once, he listened to me!_ Dark Pit thought, reassured. However, Pit clapped hands and asked that the two horses leave and go back to Skyworld… without him aboard. Dark Pit was about to protest, to tell him that he was even more of an idiot than he had thought he was, but the light angel took out the glowing necklace that he had brought along with him. When his darker twin's eyes were caught by its light, Pit walked up to him and handed it to him. "If you don't want me to fight for you, then let me fight to find the meaning of this."

"Pit, I'm about to become mean," Dark Pit groaned, narrowing his eyes. "You cannot fight this war, alright? With the Uprising, you—"

"I'm fine!" Pit interrupted him, eyes burning with a secret passion that he did not know Pit had within him. The strong will to fight for justice, for Light… Dark Pit found the same fiery desire within those sapphire eyes that were locked on him. Pit stared at the necklace his twin now held in his hands and started talking again: "Why does everyone worry about me? I am fine! I am up to fighting! This stone bears a secret, and I'll find out what it is—with or without you!"

"Pit, you are not fi—"

"Don't say anything! I am fine, I am doing great, thank you," Pit cut him off without looking away from Dark Pit. "Now we both need to find the origins of this stone, since it's supposedly linking us together. I believe in it, even if you don't!"

Dark Pit stared at him, folding his arms, and bore his usual bored expression in his ruby eyes. "I told you, you need to rest. Do I not speak English?"

Pit glared at him, which surprised Dark Pit enough for him to take a step back. What was that rage he could read in these gorgeous oceans? Where did it come from? He had never seen it there before… Did something happen with Palutena that made him so desperate? Or was he just grumpy? No, even when he was pissed off, he'd never have that much hatred in his eyes… Dark Pit suddenly felt heavily concerned and, though he would never say it, kind of threatened.

Pit shook his head, gritting his teeth, and snatched the necklace from his darker twin's hands. "I don't care what you have to say. Once we do know how and why it's there, I promise… I swear I'll go back to being locked up in my room in Skyworld's Palace for the rest of my life, just like you and Lady Palutena want me to," he assured, even though his eyes did not exactly express as much certainty. He seemed rather hurt at the thought of leaving Dark Pit to deal with the greedy Gods that were after him, but… Pit could not take part in a war that was not his', he understood that fairly well.

Dark Pit furrowed his brows and thought that he hadn't heard him right. "Pit, you said… 'locked up' in your room?"

Pit's eyes filled with tears, and he turned away from his twin. Dark Pit observed him, a tint of worry in his unexpressive ruby orbs, and put a hand on his lighter counterpart's shoulder, thus encouraging him to explain what had happened. The captain of Palutena's army sniffed and his whole body started shaking, while he brought his hand over that of Dark Pit. The dark angel wanted to draw back but couldn't, it would break his heart if he recoiled, no matter how much his body wished to be away from Pit. Pit looked over his shoulder, tears streaming down his face, and his twin loathed it immediately. "Lady Palutena said she didn't want me to come to the Overworld to save you. But I couldn't let go…"

"So she was pissed at you and decided to keep you on lock down?" Dark Pit asked, almost innocently, before he snorted. "Seems like I'm not the only one to be bothered by your presence alone."

"You know you aren't."

"Shut up," the dark angel growled under his breath, rolling his eyes. _You know he's right_ , his heart whispered to him, which made Dark Pit even angrier. He decided not to focus on it, but rather give his attention to the shaking, broken little bird holding onto his hand. The dark angel breathed in and his eyes softened when they landed on Pit's trembling figure. He would not let him down, not after he had sacrificed everything to come to his rescue. He owed him, whether he liked that idea or not. Dark Pit stepped forward, taking his hand off of his lighter twin's shoulder, before he bit his lower lip and said: "I guess you can come and live with me, since you can't go back to Skyworld. I have a spare room."

Pit raised his head, a slight smile on his lips, before he jumped and hugged Dark Pit. His heart was pounding against his darker twin's chest, which delighted him, even though he'd never say so. "Thank you, Pittoo."

"If you call me that again, I also have a courtyard."

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 _To be continued…_

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 **Updated: 02/11/2019**


	4. Chapter 3: Decisions

_**Hello again everyone! Since I have written several chapters in advance, I figured that I should upload them one by one, every two days. I don't know how long I'll keep up with that rhythm but it's worth a shot!**_

 _ **I wanted to say a huge thank you to Trash pandas, who favorited and followed this story! It really warms my heart and I hope you'll enjoy the rest of it just as much! Also a shoutout to all of you, my readers, that have kept reading up to this point :) Love to all of you!**_

 _ **Now I'll leave you to it! Hope you have a good time!**_

 _ **Yours truly, Circle of J.**_

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 **Disclaimer: ****I do not own the characters from the Kid Icarus series. The deities mentioned are taken from Greek Mythology, remastered the way I imagine them. What I own, on the other hand, is the plot.**

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 **Kid Icarus: Heirs of the Light**

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 _Chapter 3: Decisions_

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It had been a little less than a week since Pit had left Skyworld. He lived with Dark Pit in a small, furnished house in the human city he had saved during the Uprising, and tried his best to prevent his wings from showing to anybody, just like his twin did. Even though the people knew who he was, he still did not feel comfortable walking among the crowd of humans with his wings visible. In order to hide them efficiently, Dark Pit had found a cloak that he put over his head, long enough to hide his entire back. Much like any other cape, except that it had a large hood that fell over his shoulders. The fabric itself was soft and light blue, which suited him perfectly with his deep, sapphire eyes shining underneath it.

Dark Pit, on the other hand, wore a purple cloak, kind of similar to his but a lot thicker, that contrasted with his light, snow-white skin and red, ruby eyes. They were never at the same place at the same time, as not to draw people's suspicions because they looked so much alike. Magnus was the only one aware of their presence in town, he even knew where they lived thanks to Pit's big open mouth. Dark Pit had told him several times that their address had to remain a secret, but Pit couldn't keep any from his incredibly close friend Magnus. The human often visited their house with different gifts for what he thought was a 'couple': flowers, chocolate, sometimes the head of one of Dark Pit's enemies… Many sweet intentions despite the tough guy that he seemed to be on the outside. He had a heart made of pure gold when it came to his friends—or, from what Dark Pit had seen, when it came to _Pit_.

Pit looked up and placed the freshly cleaned glass that he was holding on the shelf. They had planned on tidying the house for the day, so that they had a somewhat nicer environment to live in. Ever since Pit had moved in, things got messy, since he enjoyed to leave his stuff all around the house to 'make it his own', as he put it. But Dark Pit wanted his house to remain clean and well organized.

Speaking of Dark Pit, he hadn't shown anything but an angry frown ever since Magnus left the house—about ten minutes earlier. It seemed to Pit that he acted weird when his friend was hanging around them. Weird in a way that… he watched Magnus' every move, was super cautious when Pit and him would talk in their own corner, would become rather sharp if he noticed that the two friends had touched each other in any way… Weird in a way that he was jealous. For whatever reason. Pit frowned at the thought: did his twin think the two were flirting? Unknowingly answering his question and looking absent-minded, Dark Pit asked Pit with a harsher tone than he'd have liked: "So what's with you and Magnus?"

Pit looked at him, questioning the reason why he'd want to get such pointless, meaningless information, but all he did was smile and respond in a sweet, innocent voice that he had 'no idea what you are talking about'. Dark Pit laughed humorlessly under his breath and turned around to glance at his twin, who was silently rubbing dust off of some of the glasses that were left unused all the time. His fingers wrapped around a piece of cloth soft enough not to leave marks on the glass, Pit paid close attention to what he was doing. Well, he didn't: he really just wanted to avoid the conversation, and Dark Pit knew that very well. It'd be way too easy to evade the question like that, by pretending to be busy. Dark Pit raised an eyebrow and walked up to the angel, grabbing him by the shoulders. Pit jumped and quickly moved away from the glasses, much to his twin's amusement. Had he really scared him with a simple touch? Talk about a champion… "So?" he asked again, narrowing his eyes at the lighter angel who was slowly stepping back to sit in the couch.

"Well, uhm, Pittoo, it's not what you think! Whatever… that is…" Pit defended himself, though it wasn't the most convincing argument he'd find. He rubbed his hair and tried to think of how to explain his relationship with Magnus, without Dark Pit seeing anything romantic in it. It was complicated for him though, since he just wasn't good with words. Whatever he would say, Dark Pit would interpret it in a way that justified what he claimed… So, it was useless to even try.

Instead, Pit opted for another way of approaching the situation: through experience. Way more simple and more difficult to transform into romance. Thus convinced, Pit sighed and looked at his counterpart in all seriousness. "He's a friend from the Uprising that I met when I was saving this city. He helped me take out some monsters and the Dark Lord—who actually was his ex-wife Gaol. He was also the one who saved me from the Chaos Ring; if it wasn't for him, I'd still be in there."

"You've already told me that, you've got some real short-term memory issues," Dark Pit said, and his smirk did not weaken for one bit when he asked: "The question is: d'you feel your heart beating when you're with him, Pit-stain?"

"Uhhhh… Yes, fortunately! I don't die every time I see him around, you know!"

"You know fairly well that's not what I meant."

Pit frowned and suddenly seemed to realize what his twin was referring to. "P-Pittoo, what even—"

"Alright, alright, sheesh!" Dark Pit laughed again, then he raised his hands up in the air in retreat. It was one of these heartfelt chuckles that so rarely came out of the dark angel.

Pit blinked, astonished, and let the wonderful feeling of witnessing such an outburst of sincerity sink in. It reminded him of those times they spent at the waterfall, looking down at the scenery beneath their feet and reading stories together. There, Dark Pit always seemed to be the happiest angel alive, because there was just the two of them, with no obligations, no duties. There would only be the sky, the water falling into a spring below, and the wonderful, melodic voice of Dark Pit as he read the text beneath his eyes. Pit couldn't wait for their next meeting there, he had longed for such a day off with his twin for quite a while.

With that in mind, Pit looked deep into his darker version's red eyes. "That's heartwarming! It's probably one of the first times I see you smile in a long time, Pittoo!" Pit exclaimed, amazed by the beautiful smile on his twin's lips. "I didn't think you'd be capable of showing anything but crankiness."

"Anyhow." Dark Pit put on his mask of coldness, of carelessness and took a small towel out of a drawer in the kitchen to dry his hands with. Once he was done with that, he looked up at Pit again and raised an eyebrow. He folded his arms, looking unimpressed, and Pit's heart sank at the sight; did he somehow ruin the moment they were having? He hadn't meant to… Dark Pit shook his head, furrowing his brows. "Now that you're done making fun of me—"

"I wasn't, Pittoo!"

"I know you were, Pit-stain!" Dark Pit snapped at him, rage blazing in his red eyes, before he took a deep breath to control his temper. "No need to get all touchy about the subject of Magnus, you know. I won't say anything if you're crushing on him."

"You're telling _me_ not to get touchy on the matter!" Pit countered, then he stood up and walked up to his twin. Their height was almost identical, even though he had to say that Dark Pit was getting taller than him with time. Perhaps that was because of his mentality: he talked and thought like a grandpa. Of course he was going to grow faster than him… But really, Pit didn't envy him in any way. After all, he was still the most handsome one of the pair. Plus, he was certain that Dark Pit's gaming IQ was at least two hundred points lower than his own, so why be jealous at all?

"Pit," Dark Pit called him out, under his breath, while he stared out the window in disbelief. Before Pit had time to say something, Dark Pit moved away and retreated to the kitchen without a glance behind. He felt more tensed all of a sudden, as if something had scared him. Was it the noise coming from the streets? It sounded like nothing more than humans screaming at each other. That happened often, right? The light angel did not feel especially threatened. Should he have? Was something happening, was someone coming for him? The dark angel faked washing the dishes again, even though Pit knew there was nothing left in the sink. He frowned, wanted to ask him why he was doing such thing, but his twin nodded towards the window. "Go to your room, Pit. We don't have time to talk about this," was all he said.

Confused, Pit peeked outside and noticed a few feathers and golden armors behind the door. _Centurions._ They came to get their captain back, surely following Palutena's orders. Pit felt his heart beat two times faster at the sight of his companions in arms; they planned on taking him back to Skyworld, but he couldn't go back, he refused to be locked up for eternity. Worried, the light angel trailed his hand up to the necklace he was wearing and wrapped it around the glowing stone. He hadn't solved the mystery, however he knew how close he was—he could feel it… No, he would never give it up to be on lock down, he'd rather get killed than that. The necklace had just started showing signs, it had just started guiding him towards Medusa! They finally knew where they needed to go to uncover its true meaning. Palutena had no right to force him to come back. Pit started walking away, heading towards his room, however his medallion slipped out of his pocket. He sighed, just about to scoop it up, when the door was forced by a Centurion and flew open.

The troops stormed in, pushing everything in their way and throwing Dark Pit's belongings to the ground. The dark angel gritted his teeth but tried to keep his calm, for he did not want to attack those jerks and be in even worse terms with Palutena. A Centurion walked up to him and called him out by a simple, disrespectful 'You! Copy!'. Dark Pit breathed in and finally turned around with a smirk across the lips. Suddenly, he noticed the shining red medallion on the ground and turned pale. _Fucking idiot, worst timing ever!_ he thought, walking quickly towards it and pushing it under the table. He took the soaked towel and attempted to dry his hands again before he gave up and crossed arms against his chest instead. He felt a little reassured by the fact that the Centurions hadn't realized he had pushed something under the table.

"Oh, you found me!" he exclaimed, much to the Centurion's surprise. The guard tried walking closer to him but Dark Pit pushed him away with a little less strength than he'd wanted. The Centurion, shocked by the attack perpetrated against him, looked at the dark angel with a threatening glow in his eyes. The angel snickered at that sight and put his hands on his hips, back to his attitude. "Come on, you thought I'd surrender to your precious, petty little Goddess?"

Following his words, he vaguely distinguished Pit's dangerous glare on him from a dark corner but did not pay attention to it. Nothing wrong with being honest, right? They'd have that talk later, if Pit was ready to hear it—didn't seem like it but hey! Miracles could happen. Dark Pit focused on the Centurion, who was followed by at least five others, and frowned before their outstanding silence. "For once, someone knows how to shut it!"

"Do you know where our captain is located, _Copy_?" the Centurion asked, and Dark Pit wanted to spit at his face for the way he had dared to call him. "Palutena requires his immediate return."

"What, you're asking me? If I'd seen him, I'd have killed him, don't you think? Why do you come to me, you useless little thing?" Dark Pit scoffed at the Centurion.

"Palutena told us he would be with you."

"Oh, then perhaps he's dead!" he laughed. The Centurion drew closer to the dark angel, ready to beat him up for what he had said—even though he was certain that it was only provocation—but movement to his right caught his attention. His eyes drifted to the shadow that kept silent in a corner of the room and started to walk up to it, but Dark Pit brandished a frying pan and slammed it against the back of the Centurion's neck. Knocked out, he fell to the ground. The other Centurions held onto their bows, aiming them at the angel, but the latter only grinned.

"Who wants some?!" he asked them, grasping the handle of the frying pan. He'd have some fun, it'd been a few days! The Centurions launched themselves towards him and Dark Pit evaded their attacks, throwing them over the table. They were dazed, but the dark angel knew it wouldn't last long. Thus, he dashed to the corner of the room, pulled Pit by the arm and ran out of the house. The crowd of Centurions, once they felt better, chased after them as soon as they realized it was their captain who was running away. Weapons in hands, they kept aiming their light blue arrows at Dark Pit's feet. They couldn't hit their captain, otherwise Palutena's rage would be unprecedented.

Dark Pit did all he could to cover his lighter counterpart, until he pulled to a stop and turned around, brutally attacking the Centurions with his frying pan. The humans walking by screamed in horror and ran for shelter, while Pit tried to deter his twin from hurting his army. Even though they were trying to imprison him, they were still his men, and they were only doing what they had been asked to do. Dark Pit snarled and pushed Pit's hand off of his shoulder, swinging his frying pan at the Centurions to deflect their arrows of light. Pit sighed and resigned himself to attacking as well, since they couldn't keep scaring off the humans; it would blow up their cover.

Making sure that his cloak wouldn't slip off of his shoulders, Pit held out his hand and his Palutena Bow appeared in it. He immediately jumped in front of Dark Pit, spinning his bow so fast that it worked just as a shield. Eventually, a blue shield extended from the weapon's blades, preventing any arrows from touching Dark Pit. The dark angel snatched Pit's bow from his hands and separated it into swords, slashing the Centurions' bodies with them. Pit didn't try to stop him, instead he carried the shield with the power of his mind, making sure that his twin was always under cover. However, Dark Pit was a little taller than Pit, and for that matter they could still aim for him. The Centurions, on the brink of defeat against the united forces of the two angels, drew their arrows and aimed them at Pit.

The light angel gasped and was paralyzed by fear, since he was deprived of his weapon and the shield was protecting Dark Pit. He looked at his troop with disbelief in his eyes; how could they threaten him, their captain, in such a manner? How could they think about killing him? Could Palutena ask them to destroy him because he fled? Would she do that? Was he really considered a traitor? Pit shook his head, incredulous, but not at all in a good way. "Drop your weapons!" he cried out, desperate. "What do you think you're doing?!"

One of the Centurions checked with the others and, after a slight unsure nod, they all dropped their weapons to the ground in a loud _clang!_. Dark Pit looked up, out of breath, and soon the shield around him disintegrated. He glanced towards Pit, reassured to see that he hadn't been harmed, and winced at the cut on his arm; one of the arrows had barely missed, thus leaving a small cut that stung him. Though it was the least of his worries. The dark angel walked back towards his twin, handing him his precious Bow —which he had to say was an incredibly good weapon. Pit nodded at him, grasping his weapon tight, and was the first one to talk things out with the Centurions: "What is this all about? Men, why are you aiming at me?!"

"Our Goddess Palutena wants you back, Captain Pit," the Centurion at the head of the group explained, lowering his head in shame of his own actions. He tapped his foot on the ground with apprehension.

Pit silently shook his head in denial: no, he wouldn't go anywhere. Never would he accept to be locked up in his room again, once had been enough. He was _this_ close to solving the mystery of his necklace that tied him with Dark Pit, abandoning now would be a huge mistake. One that he would not commit. "I apologize but I will not come back," Pit said, firm and definitive in his answer. "I am on my way to find the meaning of my necklace! Lady Palutena can't interfere: it's my duty to figure this out!"

"But Captain, we have an emergency and we need you home to defeat a God who targets a human city."

"What?!" Pit reacted, tears starting to form in his eyes. "So you're not here to lock me up again?" The Centurion shook his head negatively. Pit believed him fully, a Centurion would never lie to him—even less when they were sent by his dear Palutena herself. He thought about his decision, arguments battling in his mind; on the one hand, he needed to stay here, to look for meaning behind this mysterious gift he was given from the Heavens, and on the other hand, he had obligations… towards both Dark Pit and Palutena. But the two couldn't fit in one sentence in his case… He was deeply torn but still needed to make a choice. It was Dark Pit's life, which was the most precious thing in the world in his view, or several hundreds of humans saved… It was his necklace and its mystery solved or a safe human city, with all its civilians protected… Pit's head started to hurt when he thought about the sacrifices that, no matter what he chose, he was forced to make.

Dark Pit rested a hand on his shoulder, which was enough to startle him. "Listen to them, Pit. If humans need you, you must go back."

"But… What about you, Pittoo?" Pit asked, deeply shook by the decision he needed to take as quickly as possible. It was complicated for him to get a straight answer: there were so many possibilities, so many outcomes, and so little time. "And what about this?" he asked again, a hand wrapped around the glowing stone around his neck. "I can't let this go to waste, we put so much effort…"

"Pit, it's not worth its cost. Humans need you, you can't ignore your responsibilities towards them," Dark Pit replied, looking into the distance while he kept his hand on Pit's shoulder. Oh, he'd miss that touch… He'd miss the few, strong heartfelt moments that they had shared together. He'd miss the sound of his voice… He gulped and shut eyes. "You are the captain of Palutena's army. You can't just sit around and wait for the world to burst into flames."

"But you know I can't let this go," Pit countered, hurt in his eyes. He grabbed Dark Pit by the arms and forced him to look at him. "Tell me that it's not worth it," he whispered, holding his necklace tight, before he put it against Dark Pit's chest. "Tell me that it's not, I wouldn't believe you. There's something up with it that we need to solve, you and I. Now that I went so far to do it, I won't draw back."

"And you are a fool not to."

"Pittoo—"

"Don't call me that!" Dark Pit snapped at him, a wild fire blazing in his eyes before it was replaced by tears. "Not when you're leaving… It's painful."

Pit shook his head. "But I'm not leaving. I'm staying with you."

"Look—"

"No, please. Don't start this again," Pit interrupted him, still preventing Dark Pit from moving away since he had his hands wrapped around his arms. He didn't want him to leave, and he wouldn't leave either. Just as he was about to refuse the Centurion's offer to go back to Skyworld and tell them to deal with the problem on their own, he caught Dark Pit's sad glance and froze. "Pittoo, are you alright?"

Dark Pit looked off to the side, lost in thoughts himself. He never answered Pit's question, because he knew what he had to do, and he knew his heart would break at the sight of Pit leaving for the Heavens without him. But that was the only responsible thing to do. So instead of answering to Pit's stupid question, he pushed the light angel towards the Centurions and started to walk off to the forest. Seeing Pit reunited with his troops had deeply moved him, and he didn't wish to look at them any longer than he already had. Pit wished to hold him back, but he couldn't make a move. He stood there, watching him walk away with a deep, burning feeling inside his stomach—as if he was about to throw up.

The Centurions, happy that they reunited with their lost captain, came closer and took him into a warm embrace, however Pit could not take his eyes off that one spot where Dark Pit had been standing a few minutes before. He could still picture him, defeat glued to his face and tarnishing his ruby eyes while he looked away from him. He could still sense a hand on his shoulder; a rough but loving one that no other could outstand. Pit teared up and wiggled away from the embrace the Centurions had caught him into, staring at that one spot. He stared, long enough for his eyes to feel like they were burning, then turned to the Centurions who were waiting for him to call Palutena.

Pit looked at the skies, through the heavy clouds, and thought about his decision—which he had never taken, since Dark Pit had imposed his own to him. "La…dy… Pa…" he tried to call but stopped in his tracks. No, she had betrayed him. He would never give up, never. Even if Hades was there standing before him, trying to prevent him from reaching out to Dark Pit, he would still go head first. His twin was too precious to be lost; he'd be broken without him.

A Centurion frowned when he noticed that Pit couldn't get the words out of his mouth, even words as simple as their Goddess' name. He went on to grab Pit's arm and reassure him, comfort him in his decision, but his captain abruptly pushed him off. "Captain—"

"I have made a promise!" Pit yelled at him, his voice shaking just as much as the rest of his body. "I have told him that I'd stay until we found the meaning behind my necklace! I won't let go!"

"The world is in danger, can't this necklace wait, Captain?" the Centurion asked, confused. Such a weird sense of priorities... It didn't seem like his captain at all. Pit always had a gut feeling when it came to what was more important. But maybe he hadn't lost it? Perhaps this necklace was really more important than saving this human city? The Centurion didn't really know what to think of all this…

Pit clenched his fist and turned away from the Centurions. "Lady Palutena didn't care about the world being in danger when she locked me up in my room! Men, head back to Skyworld. You have my trust, and you will save this human city with the help of Lady Palutena alone. I will stay here and resume my search for meaning behind this necklace." Before the Centurions could have said anything, Pit had headed towards the forest with tears streaming down his face. He held onto his necklace, which was violently, vividly glowing light blue as he stormed towards the river.

The Centurions hesitated whether to follow him or not, but decided that they had wasted enough time and had other things to take care of—namely, the evil God's forces which were now left for them to beat on their own, without their captain.

Pit ran up to the river and found there the crooked figure that he was so vehemently looking for: Dark Pit. He sat near the water, head down, looking at his reflection perhaps. The light angel fell to his knees when he finally caught up with his darker twin and immediately took him in his arms. He squeezed him so hard that Dark Pit found it hard to breathe and was scared that his ribs may snap. He looked at Pit, who was better described as an emotional mess: his eyes were red with the tears he'd cried, his whole being was shaking in place, and he wouldn't let go of him one second.

"You shouldn't be here." Dark Pit slightly pushed his twin away and sat him down on the grass, holding him by the shoulders so that he would catch his undying attention. "You are an idiot," he added, which brought even more sorrow to the angel's watery blue eyes. "No, scrap that. You're not only an idiot, you're the _biggest_ one I've ever met, Pit-stain."

Pit broke down again, like a doll almost, and his entire body became like jelly. "You don't understand… I can't let you go, Pittoo…"

"And why not?" Dark Pit inquired, squinting his red eyes and staring right into the sapphire orbs he yearned for so much. "What's wrong with leaving me to deal with my own problems?"

Pit sobbed and wrapped his arms around Dark Pit's neck. He held him tight, trembling like a leaf. Such a fragile little thing… How could he have beaten Hades? Feelings… Feelings were a curse, Dark Pit was now convinced: they could turn the strongest warrior of all time into a tearful mess. The dark angel winced at that thought, secretly hoping that his own feelings would never do such thing to him. Although he was not overly worried about it, the question still lingered in his mind and he gulped in fear. Dark Pit shook his head, focusing on his shaking light twin, before he quickly turned away from him, trying to seem annoyed when, really, he was heartbroken by the sight of those tears. "Hey, breathe for two seconds! It's not the end of the world, Pit."

"I left them to die!" Pit almost screamed, barely in control of himself anymore. He sobbed harder after that sentence, and Dark Pit's ruthless heart actually broke to shreds, even more than it already had. "I did, Pittoo, I did! I'm selfish, those humans needed me!"

"If you regret it, you can still go back," Dark Pit said, shrugging off the sadness that he felt when he said these words. "Besides, I'm sure Palutena will take care of it, so will the Centurions," he then assured, in an attempt to soothe the cries of this little angel and his own worry about his departure. "Don't worry about it, you'd agree that they are trustworthy, so these humans do not risk anything from whatever God is attacking them."

Pit nodded vigorously, rubbing the tears off of his face, then he sniffed and lowered his head. His eyes were half-closed, and his mouth twisted in a way that Dark Pit truly, deeply hated with all his heart. "You're right, Pittoo…"

"I know," the dark angel smirked, before lightly kissing his twin's cheek. "I'm always right, even when I say you're a dumbass, trust me."

"Pittoo…" Pit whined, sniffing against the soaked tunic of his counterpart while he tried to hide his flushed face. That kiss had felt way better than he'd have thought… He wished he could have another one of these, but didn't dare to ask.

"Shh," Dark Pit whispered as he lifted Pit's face and put a finger against his lips. "You're a dumbass, yes, sure, but you're _not_ selfish. You've got yourself confused with me on that one. I've never seen anyone as dedicated to others as you are, so… I don't ever want to hear you say that about yourself. Got it?"

Pit did not reply, nor did he look at his twin. However, that did not prevent Dark Pit from seeing the pain in his eyes, the worry on his twisted lips, the guilt in the frowning of his eyebrows. The dark angel put his hand under Pit's chin and lifted it so that he could look into those watery sapphires. Why was he putting so much stress on himself? Why couldn't he just enjoy his life, like everyone else—Why did his sense of justice bring him to such tragic ends?

Dark Pit sighed at that sight. Pit had always said that his reason to live was Palutena, yet he was still alive even though he was far away from her at the moment. Did he not realize what that meant? Those 'reasons' that he seemed to find for every thing he did in his days were not as elemental as he thought they were; he could still live on his own, free of any responsibilities, free of any expectations. He could live just like Dark Pit: free, yet craving for more freedom. He only lived his life for his own interests, he only ever did things for his wellbeing, for his own care and his own expectations. He was widely considered the 'dark copy', but in the end, was wanting to be free of all things so dark and unthought of? Was it such a crazy concept? He thought about that for a moment: an angel was an errand spirit—according to Viridi's definition. Errand meant that they could go everywhere, that they had no bond with anything. They could roam around, free, without having to follow a God's orders and put up with their demands.

Pit had often told him that his life was breathtaking, that he barely found any time for himself and wanted to more than anything; now that he found what he was looking for, he felt guilty for it. What in the Underworld was wrong with this angel?

Dark Pit stood up and pulled Pit to his feet as well. They had to walk back to the city and find another place to rest, since their hiding spot had been discovered. He wouldn't want Pit to be abducted during the night while nobody expected it… So they had to find a new place to stay at, and that wouldn't take an hour only. Pit eyed at his twin and slowly wiped his tears with his arm over his face. "I'm sorry about that…" he said with a shaking, half broken voice. "I wish you didn't have to witness that."

"So do I, it was highly embarrassing," Dark Pit smirked—back to his attitude! "Now cheer up, we've got to visit some houses around town, since we can't stay in my own house any longer."

"Why not, Pittoo?" Pit asked, confused. "It was a good place."

"It _was_ , yeah. My point."

"So we just give it up?"

"Mhm, Palutena and her Centurions know where it's at now, Pit-stain. Unless you want to get kidnapped in your sleep and locked up in Skyworld again, really, it's up to you."

"No, never again!" Pit cried out in terror when he heard those words, shock sticking to his face and fear creeping in his blue eyes. He started to shake again, frightened at the idea of the Centurions coming in his room, and putting a poisoned cloth over his mouth to take him to his dark, gloomy room and forget about him for the next centuries to come. "I don't want to go there again!"

Dark Pit nodded and pulled him by the wrist, walking towards the city at a quite fast pace. "What I thought. Then, we need to find a new resting place. I know a pair of houses that could fit your precious taste."

"Do you have the money to purchase them?"

The dark angel grinned. Such an innocent little angel… If only he knew…

* * *

 _To be continued…_

* * *

 **Updated: 02/11/2019**


	5. Chapter 4: Signals

_**Hello again everyone! I come to you with a new chapter, hopefully you will like it! Thank you to everyone reading this story, it really makes me happy to share something with you guys! Exchanging with other writers/readers is always something very exciting for me!**_

 _ **Have a good read, don't forget to leave a comment to tell me what you think! ;)**_

 _ **Yours truly, Circle of J.**_

* * *

 **Disclaimer: ****I do not own the characters from the Kid Icarus series. The deities mentioned are taken from Greek Mythology, remastered the way I imagine them. What I own, on the other hand, is the plot.**

* * *

 **Kid Icarus: Heirs of the Light**

* * *

 _Chapter 4: Signals_

* * *

Pit didn't look at Dark Pit when he stormed out of his room with his arms crossed. He didn't listen when he yelled at him that they had lost the signal, when he claimed that it was Pit's fault for interfering with the jewel in the first place. The stone, it had… emitted a signal, it had started glowing and a weird, unsettling noise came out of it. Dark Pit had jumped on the stone, watched and tried to decipher words or anything like that from the shrieking voice, but Pit admitted that he had lost his patience. He walked up to the jewel, decided to take it back so that it stopped killing his ears. As soon as he touched it, it had stopped; only the light glimmer of blue showed that it even worked still. Dark Pit had glared at Pit, repeated several times that he was a dumbass, and pushed him out of his room before closing the door at his face.

Now Pit knew what he was going to say, very original: 'You shouldn't have done that', he'd say; 'You should've let it do its thing!'. 'Maybe it'd had given information on our next step!', or something along those lines. The light angel was fed up with his twin's constant bad mood and remarks. All he was there for was his necklace. He hadn't asked anything from Dark Pit, quite the opposite! More often than not, Pit would go singlehandedly to fight off the demons of the Underworld, he wouldn't demand for Dark Pit's help at any time. The fact alone that he still considered himself the 'leader' made Pit grit his teeth.

Dark Pit stared at Pit, who was sitting on the couch with his precious jewel in his palm. He was looking at it, he kept a close eye on the artifact; maybe he even cared more about it than about his own self. The dark angel snorted. "You're done staring at your stone? We've got business to attend to."

"It's sending vibrations up in my arm," Pit answered without looking away from the necklace. "I don't know what it's saying."

His twin scoffed but moved closer anyways, in order to check it out. Progress was progress, it needed to be taken into account—despite how small it was compared to what was previously unveiling. Dark Pit slowly tapped the stone and felt it shaking, almost even quaking in Pit's palm—and he made sure that it wasn't just the stupid angel trembling to trick him. "Well, that's something. Is it supposed to send a message?" Pit shrugged and stood up, because of how uneasy he felt sitting next to Dark Pit. After the argument they had and the load of anger that his twin had released on him, the light angel was not thrilled by the idea of staying close to him. He walked to the window, gazed at the bunch of humans that were chatting in the street, while he left the necklace on the couch, next to Dark Pit's hand. The dark angel's eyes drifted towards the jewel, then back at Pit until he let out a loud, annoyed sigh. "Acting childishly isn't going to help."

"I can't believe you'd blame Lady Palutena," Pit whispered under his breath. The angel could barely contain his rage when he said those words, hearing those of Dark Pit about ten minutes earlier. He could've recited the whole conversation, because of how evil and twisted it had turned as soon as Pit mentioned his Goddess. Pit clenched his fists, did not turn towards his dark counterpart, and continued, "I can't believe you'd say something like this. I thought you knew better! I get that she hasn't been the best with you, I get that she doesn't like you and you reciprocate those regards! But put your own judgment aside when you deal with such things!"

Dark Pit growled. "Why can't you just accept that it's a possibility?! What is so crazy about Palutena being manipulative?!"

"She's nothing like that!"

"Oh no! She's nothing like that, Pit!" Dark Pit almost screamed at him, jumping to his feet. He dashed towards Pit and pulled him by the shoulders, almost slamming his body against the fragile window. He couldn't help with the violence he was showing off; he was lost too deep in his own fury. "She locked you up in your quarters because you wanted to come and save me, but she's nothing like that?! Does it really seem so uncanny Pit? Does it seem so much of stretch?!"

"Pittoo, you're hurting me!"

"To add to this, if she didn't need to _use_ you for her own purposes and her own fucking satisfaction, she'd have given you the ability to fly a while ago!" Dark Pit exclaimed, tightening his grip on Pit's shaky shoulders.

"You know she can't! She tried!"

The light angel attempted to push him back with all the might he could harvest, however that only aggravated the situation. Sensing that his twin wanted to flee the conversation, wanted to avoid the subject by any means he could find, Dark Pit held onto him even tighter. His nails pierced through the soft, creamy skin he had compressed under his fingers. "When will you finally open your eyes?!"

Pit winced at the pain but focused on Dark Pit's sudden outburst of rage. The nails dipped in his flesh would be the least of his worries if the dark angel… went rogue—which was highly possible considering he had a hard time controlling his actions. Pit's eyes filled with tears when he felt that his shoulder bones wouldn't resist much longer. It was imperative that he found a way to soothe Dark Pit. "Please, Pittoo, you're hurting me! Let go!"

"Stop whining and listen to me! I will not let Palutena abuse you!"

"Pittoo, my shoulders!" Pit insisted, since he was paralyzed by the fear of his bones shattering into pieces.

At that moment, Dark Pit seemed to reconnect with reality and noticed the streaks of blood down Pit's shoulders, slowly tainting his white tunic. He quickly let go and stepped back, only to realize that he had been holding the necklace this whole time. Pit also frowned at the sight, but was too scared to take a step forward and check if it had provoked anything. The dark angel swiftly turned his back and went to his room. The only light source was the slight gleam of the stone, that soft purple glow that drew the edges of Dark Pit's fingers. He was about to slam the door shut, however it was blocked off by a foot preventing it from closing. "Pit, get the fuck out of my room." He was seriously about to lose it.

Pit shook his head. "Pittoo, you owe me explanations."

"Later," was all that Dark Pit replied, but that did not satisfy the young angel behind the door.

Pit kept his foot in the way of the door and eventually insisted, letting his tears run freely down his cheeks but keeping them from being heard. His shoulders were seriously starting to burn, but he didn't complain; it really wasn't the time to bring any attention to them. A question lingered in his foggy mind, and he was desperate to know the answer. "Pittoo…"

"Pit, you know I hate it when you just say my name and nothing else. So, tell me."

"Do you really think that Lady Palutena is using me?"

Dark Pit sighed. Yes, he did. In all honesty, he truly, sincerely did, he had absolutely no doubt on the matter. Rough and frank no matter the context—like he always was, the dark angel did not hesitate when he answered: "Yes, I do. I don't actually _think_ that, I _know_ that. However, I apologize for the way I delivered the information… Maybe you were not ready for it."

Pit could only agree on that: he wasn't prepared to hear such mean, unjustified accusations towards his Goddess Palutena. Nonetheless, he'd accept them, because Dark Pit was his own being; he had the right to believe in whatever he wanted, as long as he didn't try to persuade Pit into thinking the same thing. The light angel rested his forehead against the door, pondered whether he should leave Dark Pit alone or not, and let out a little, half-strangled sob. He had tried his best to silence it… Seemed like he wasn't too good at that, he was just too honest for his own sake. "Are you crying, Pit?" Dark Pit asked, on the other side of the door, and his twin refrained from answering. It'd be stupid to say yes, it'd be lying to say no. The dark angel felt increasingly bad, knowing very well that he had triggered those tears to fall on Pit's cheeks. And he loathed to see Pit crying so much. "Don't, please. I'm not worth it, now don't you agree?"

"I don't agree," Pit said, trying to keep his composure despite his broken, shivery voice. "I think you're worth every single drop of my tears."

Dark Pit opened the door, surprising Pit who immediately stepped back. He expected a comeback, he braced himself for the threatening words that his twin would throw at his face, and looked down at the ground in defeat. He slightly jumped when Dark Pit moved closer and decided to take his chance, looking straight into his eyes. The dark angel froze at the sight: those blue eyes that he usually loved drowning into, those sapphires that he could watch every minute of his life… so much sadness was contained in them… Dark Pit hated himself when he hurt Pit, it was the worst sin he could ever commit; such an innocent, cheerful angel… Who would ever want to hurt him?

The dark angel leaned in closer and gave in to his pitiful, despicable feelings, finally taking his light counterpart in his arms. Yes, he was very reluctant at first: he almost yelped in horror when he felt contact with the other's body. He kind of expected no less; after all, he'd never been used to being touched by someone. Hugs were foreign to his education. But, that being said, he also felt good about himself for working on repairing the toy he had broken. Pit was a sweet, loving little angel: one single demonstration of affection from Dark Pit—above anyone—would lift up his mood for the entire evening. However this time, he didn't calm down in the slightest. It was as if Dark Pit holding him close made him… scared. "Pit, calm down. I won't hurt you… You know, you can be really adorable sometimes."

"Is that why you hate me so much?" Pit asked before he wrapped his arms around Dark Pit's back. He buried his drowned face into his dark counterpart's shoulder and sniffed loudly. "Tell me why you hate me…"

Dark Pit raised an eyebrow. "Weird request from someone I'm holding in my arms, don't you think?"

"Pittoo…"

"Come on now. Magnus will be there soon," Dark Pit said, changing the subject into something he knew would get Pit excited. "I'll tell you what I think of you on the battlefield, next time we face each other. For now let's focus on greeting Magnus."

Just as he expected, the light angel nodded and wiped his tears off with his arm, in order to look decent for his friend's arrival. Well, _friend_ … Dark Pit strongly doubted that. The way that these two looked at each other, with such passion and trust… could only belong to _lovers_ , in his view. Not like he knew anything about relationships, but he still felt incredibly jealous for it. He somehow wished he could share the same amount of interest towards Pit, he hoped that one day, that sparkle in his light twin's eyes would be directed at him. _Now why am I hoping that?_ he thought to himself. He didn't know what was up with him.

While Pit remained the angel he always was and annoyed him with his extreme happiness every hour of the day, Dark Pit was… shifting, becoming someone else. Well, he was still arrogant and gloomy but… he also showed up to be more romantic and hopeful at times—mostly around Pit. When he thought that his soul used to be filled with darkness, with mistrust and defiance… He even snapped a lot less lately. He felt in charge, master of his emotions, and he also felt less appealed by violence—which was highly unusual for him. Yet somehow, Dark Pit enjoyed the change; he used to be petrified at the idea of changing… However, he had to say that he felt lighter, awake. He felt _alive_.

Pit raised his head and looked right into Dark Pit's ruby eyes with deep, burning, longing passion—which always went unnoticed, he had no idea how or why. While he would be criticized over and over for 'looking too insistently' at Magnus, Dark Pit never saw the gleam in Pit's eyes whenever he looked at him. Perhaps he was just absent-minded every time he did. That was possible, with Dark Pit's numerous problems, he could very well be thinking about something while Pit's eyes devoured him whole. The light angel found it handy: no need to expand now on his growing love for Dark Pit, but still the opportunity to detail him with his eyes. Perfect match, he had to admit.

Dark Pit shook his head when he left the trail of his thoughts behind him, and turned to look at Pit. The light angel had already walked off and was fidgeting with his precious necklace, feeling as it was probably quaking again. This time, he looked up and out the window, as if he tried to see something special in the landscape. But he pouted: _nothing_ , Dark Pit presumed. Another false alert. "We'll get something in due time."

"I feel strange about this," Pit confessed, then his eyes locked on the stone. "It's acting weird when it's on me. But I have to keep it…"

Dark Pit quickly nodded. "Yes, it's imperative that you keep it. We've already talked about this. We don't know what would happen if this stone wasn't keeping you on your feet. Palutena's absence is starting to wreck you up."

"Yeah… You're telling me…" Pit agreed, taking the decision to put the necklace around his neck again. He felt immediately stronger, healthier, and ready to kick some demon's buns. Pit turned towards the door when a loud knock struck it, and rushed to open it to Magnus. "Magnus, it's so good to see you!"

"My pleasure, angel face," Magnus replied, a hand falling on his shoulder, before he walked in and put a sack on the table. "Got a little something for you two."

Dark Pit raised an eyebrow, wondering what their gift would be this time, but didn't let that disperse his attention. Instead, he looked right back at the book he attempted to read—he didn't want to listen to his jealousy today. Magnus glanced at him, like he usually did, however he did not bother him, only interested in Pit. As it turned out, the light angel felt in the mood to talk, for once. Of course, that was ironic. "You didn't sleep last night, angel face? Your eyes look dark," Magnus pointed out, sitting down next to Pit on the couch that was even too small to fit him alone. He had no idea how the angel could squeeze his body so much that they could sit in it together. "Is your jewel causing you trouble?"

Pit slightly nodded and looked at the stone with a weird admiration. Every time Magnus saw the angel wearing this thing around his neck, he would act out of character. Strangely hypnotized… He didn't like it at all, but who was he to tell him what he should or shouldn't do? He was an angel, he should know that himself. After all, he had a _Goddess_ , right? He didn't need advice from a mere human being like Magnus. Pit caressed the stone with his thumb, completely out of it, and Magnus decided to do something about it. He trailed his hand behind Pit's back and detached the necklace, which fell out of the angel's reach. He blinked and shook his head vigorously, and Magnus had already caught the jewel and was examining it. "Now, are you hearing me?"

"Sorry Magnus, you said something?" Pit inquired, scratching the back of his head. His cheeks slightly flushed red, since he was embarrassed. Magnus knew him too well to suspect anything else, although he would've hoped for more.

The human looked back at his friend, worry in his dark eyes. However, he did not want to have that conversation with Pit at the moment: he wanted to focus on other things, probably more important than the angel's occasional fatigue. "I hadn't said anything. You just looked a little tired—But aside from that, I found out Thanatos' new lair."

"I killed him off three weeks ago," Dark Pit intervened, for the first time ever, as he walked towards the two friends. "He can't already be back."

Magnus shrugged. "Maybe you thought you killed him but you didn't."

"I'm not stupid, I killed that freak. I know I did, his corpse was lying on the ground at my feet," Dark Pit responded with lots of confidence. He remembered the scene very clearly. Viridi could even certify that he had pulverized that bastard.

Pit furrowed his brows and began thinking, standing up and going to the window to look outside. His two friends kept talking about the subject, wondering if it was even possible that Dark Pit had been misled by Medusa or someone as powerful—if not more—as she was. Pit heard bits of their conversation, his ears drowned in his own thoughts. He wasn't sure what he was thinking about… but he knew that something had just made him sick. To the point where he had to step aside. The angel of light looked out the window and his eyes drifted towards the skies above. Was Palutena alright? Was he ever going to see her again? Those questions still in mind, Pit startled when he heard his name. He turned around to look at Dark Pit, who had his arms crossed and leaned against the wall. He looked deadly serious, as he often was when something really bothered him. His deadpanned eyes fell on his twin. "What're you looking at, Pit?"

Pit struggled to find his words, and the first thing that caught his eye was the glow of his necklace. It kept shining, even in Magnus' hands. What could this all mean? Palutena had said that only two people were supposed to light it up with their touch… If that was him and Dark Pit, how could the stone react to Magnus? Wait—It didn't. Pit seemed to realize something. It was still blue. How was it possible if… the necklace didn't hold a bit of his essence? Maybe it was just a matter of odor. Since it had been in contact with Pit's skin for a while, perhaps it carried his odor and that was the reason it shined. He hoped that really was the only viable explanation to this phenomenon. "Pittoo, the stone…" he pointed out, and his twin's glance met the glowing jewel with surprise.

That was when Pit's world completely blacked out. He started to feel dizzy, his vision shifted to darkness, and Dark Pit looked up at him, confused. Pit had… moaned, and he had never heard him do that before. The dark angel walked towards his twin and put a hand on his forehead, only to realize that Pit was about to fall back. His instinct told him to take him in his arms immediately and, as soon as Dark Pit wrapped his arms around the light angel's body, he felt him pass out. Pit's head leaned back, his eyes closed instantly and he barely breathed at all. Dark Pit glanced over to Magnus in panic and the human walked to them. "What's happening to angel face?" he asked, puzzled, then he tried to touch Pit's hand. He realized that it was strangely cold. "Is he okay? Do you know what's happening?"

"No," Dark Pit admitted, even though he hated not to know everything. For someone who was used to be always right, whatever the context, it was really frustrating to be left in the dark. "I'm as puzzled as you are, believe me."

Magnus held Pit's hand while Dark Pit led his twin to the couch, where he lied him down. He carefully placed a pillow under his head, so that the unconscious angel wouldn't break his neck in half during his slumber. Pit's skin went so cold… Dark Pit felt his heart ache at the thought that he could be dying at the moment. He knew how powerless he was… If Pit suddenly died, what would he do? Nothing, there was nothing he could do. Then he started to think about his homeland, about his situation there and how everything had vanished in the blink of an eye—and in the shattering of a cursed mirror. He felt tears in his eyes and quickly looked off, so that Magnus was unable to tell that he had a weakness. Showing that something affected him so much was a mistake he'd never let himself do; too many had abused their power after they had witnessed it. He'd rather look like a rough, rude angel to everyone than a weak, broken young man with a heart torn to shreds multiple times already. Dark Pit wiped his face with the back of his hand and sighed softly.

Pit finally woke up, sitting right up in the couch and breathing heavily… as though he had been underwater for two minutes. Magnus pulled him back by the shoulders and asked him to take deep, controlled breaths, which Pit agreed to in silence and committed to doing. Dark Pit, once he had gotten rid of the sadness in his eyes, turned to them and attempted to smirk, only to fail miserably and pout. "Oh, you're alive, Pit-stain. Thought you'd died! For a moment, I dared to feel relieved."

"P-Pi-tt-oo—"

"No need for that," Dark Pit interrupted Pit, putting a hand over his lips before quickly lifting it up so that the angel could concentrate on his breathing. Even though he felt deeply concerned, he tried his hardest not to show any of it. It seemed to work out pretty nicely, since the two others looked oblivious to it.

Magnus turned his full attention to Pit and soothed him the very best way he could, holding Pit's hand and just sitting there next to him, so that he had someone supporting him. The light angel soon was able to talk, and he didn't waste any time: "It was Medusa!" he exclaimed in sheer horror. His eyes were filled with pain, hatred and, most of all, intense fear. He immediately went on with his explanation: "She said she's coming for you, Pittoo!"

Dark Pit snorted, however he kept listening. His heart started to sting when he noticed just how terrified Pit was at the idea of Medusa attacking his twin. Almost cute, _almost_. He'd have to try harder than that. "That's ridiculous."

"No, listen, it's true!"

"I'm telling you, it's ridiculous. Medusa, coming all the way here for me? Why'd she do that? I knew she craved for a servant but by the Gods!" Dark Pit sighed.

Disappointed by his twin's reaction, Pit shook his head and tears formed in his blue eyes. However he continued, out of breath because of how panicked he really felt. His heart was racing in his chest and he could sense his blood pumping through his entire body, mainly focusing on his temples which were about to blow up. The light angel jumped up and held onto Dark Pit's wrists, looking right at him. "Listen! Stop arguing with me, I know it's all true and it's happening! You need to go back to Viridi's castle, now!"

"It's not a castle, Pit, it's a S—"

"Whatever it is, you need to go there now!" Pit insisted.

Dark Pit had never seen him so tensed in his whole life. He scoffed when he thought that he'd be having a heart attack if he kept on screaming like that. "Pit, come on~! Everyone knows I could beat Medusa with my fingers sticked in my nose!"

"Medusa, isn't that the Goddess of Darkness?" Magnus asked, scratching his head because he felt like he had heard that name before—probably in Gaol's mouth.

Pit nodded at Magnus and eyed back at Dark Pit. His cheeks were now covered with tears and his hands were literally breaking apart the dark angel's bones. It was crazy how strong he could be when he really wanted to. Dark Pit would always be amazed, despite the fact that it was his own wrists being destroyed. "Please, Pittoo, I'm saying this for you."

"Look, Pit, I'm sorry," Dark Pit said, lost in thoughts, then he looked up at his puzzled counterpart. "For what I said about Palutena. Maybe she doesn't have anything to do with this."

"No matter—"

"Pit," Dark Pit cut him off, his hand over the light angel's mouth. "Let me finish when I speak."

Magnus raised an eyebrow when he saw that attitude. He had been made aware that Dark Pit was the one having the strongest character of the two, yet he didn't expect such… impatience—and dominance! Pit claimed that he was the original… Well if he was, wouldn't he be more defensive? Why would he let his doppelganger take the lead? But hey… Magnus knew how Pit was: a sweet little bunny. He'd never impose anything to anyone, he knew better. So at this point, it was easily conceivable that he'd let Dark Pit have the upper hand, just so that he felt happy about himself.

"And don't fucking change the subject," Dark Pit added, and the light angel kept his mouth shut—it was probably for everyone's good. "Now. I thought about what I said, about Palutena. I wasn't very fair with you, nor was I towards her—after all, she hasn't ever harmed you. I had no right to tell you what I did tell you and I apologize for it."

Pit acknowledged what he said, took his apology into account, however he just couldn't focus on it at the moment. He still saw Medusa in his sleep, telling him to hurry, telling him that she was coming for Dark Pit's blood. While Dark Pit still went on with his apology, explaining his thoughts and clearing up the situation between them on the matter, Pit's eyes wandered around the room in order to find his precious necklace. That was when he noticed it, in Magnus' hands, and bit his lower lip. How'd he get it back? He needed it right away, to see if it sent any signal. Somehow he felt like it would…

Dark Pit gritted his teeth when he realized that his lighter counterpart absolutely didn't listen to him, and decided that it was better not to snap. Pit had just woken up from a nightmare, perhaps he just needed time before they talked about serious matters. They'd have time for that. "Anyhow, Pit. I'm not leaving you to die here, sorry."

"Pittoo—"

"If you call me that again, I'll make you eat that wall!" Dark Pit threatened.

Pit furrowed his brows, taking a determined expression. He could seem convincing to an idiot… but not to Dark Pit. "Let me finish when I speak!"

"Oh-ho, don't use that tone with me, Pit-stain!" Dark Pit warned before he took a step forward, closer to Pit. The light angel slightly gasped and stepped back, hands raised. "You have no right to tell me what to do."

"I'm just concerned—"

"Then don't be?" Dark Pit suggested, shrugging his shoulders. "I'm not going anywhere, so you'd better get used to it."

"Hey, you two! Look at that," Magnus suddenly interrupted the fight, with an alarmed glance directed at Pit.

The stone had started shining a lot more than before, and a loud, shrieking noise came from it, killing off everyone's ears in an instant. Magnus dropped the necklace to the ground in hope that it would break it and, thus, shut it up, while Pit covered his ears with his hands. Only Dark Pit stared at the thing with a blank expression, trying to understand its message.

 _"It will lead you,"_ it whispered, in a very feminine, child-like voice. It was so hard to decipher that Dark Pit actually thought he misheard it. _"Only you can hear me, the two of you. The angels,"_ it added. _"But Pit is not ready."_

Dark Pit walked closer to the necklace and picked it up from the cold tiles, his eyes scanning it thoroughly. "You can speak?"

Pit looked up and saw Dark Pit talking to the necklace, wondering if he was crazy. Maybe he had completely lost it this time. "Pittoo?"

 _"I will lead you back,"_ the stone told Dark Pit, and he frowned. _"Like you have wanted so dearly."_

"Lead me back where?"

 _"This stone is the key to a bridge, from one end to another,"_ it murmured, like a purr in Dark Pit's ear.

He blinked. "Okay, hang on. What does this all mean and who are you?"

 _"You will know that in due time."_

"Pittoo, what's going on?! It's killing me!" Pit exclaimed, the horrifying sound was still piercing right through his ears despite him covering them up with his hands.

Dark Pit glared at the necklace. "What's this all about? What is this 'bridge' you mentioned?"

A slight, barely noticeable giggle came from the stone before it concluded with: _"I think you know very well what I'm talking about, Dark Pit."_

* * *

 _To be continued…_

* * *

 **Updated: 02/11/2019**


	6. Chapter 5: Advice seeker

_**Hello my dear readers! How are we all doing? Here is another chapter, don't hesitate to tell me what you think of it! It is a shorter one, which leads directly to the next one, so… It's sort of a cliffhanger, even though I'd not say that ^^'**_

 _ **Thank you to the people following my story, it warms my heart! It's a pleasure to share this story with you guys, so I'm delighted to see that some of you appreciate it! Hopefully you'll like it till its end! :)**_

 _ **Yours truly, Circle of J.**_

* * *

 **Disclaimer: ****I do not own the characters from the Kid Icarus series. The deities mentioned are taken from Greek Mythology, remastered the way I imagine them. What I own, on the other hand, is the plot.**

* * *

 **Kid Icarus: Heirs of the Light**

* * *

 _Chapter 5: Advice seeker_

* * *

"I still don't see anything," Pit said before he sighed in defeat.

 _"Come on, now's_ not _the time to give up! There must be something that we've missed!"_

Pit collected his thoughts while he studied the necklace with devotion. He had been quite tensed ever since the 'shrieking incident' had last occurred, only a couple days ago, and wished to know more about the subject. Dark Pit had remained strangely evasive every time he had mentioned it, and that alone made him think there was something darker to this gift which was given to him by the Gods. So, he had thought that taking a day off his usual battles to look at it and talk it out with Viridi could be beneficial to everyone.

At the moment, Dark Pit was locked up in his room and read a story, silent and concentrated as he always was. Whenever he opened a book, he would instantly be absorbed by its plot—if it was compelling enough—and spend his next few days reading it back and forth to uncover all of its lore and secrets. Even though these stories had nothing special to themselves, since they all revolved around a lone hero saving a princess from the evil guy's castle filled with evil creatures, he still found this new hobby way funnier than hanging around Pit.

After the necklace incident, he had become… questioning, perhaps even accusative when Dark Pit would say he knew nothing about the voice he heard. The light angel would persist, ask if he really didn't remember how it sounded, if he couldn't recognize it, draw a parallel with a certain Goddess of Love… It really started to get on Dark Pit's nerves, and he wished he had never heard the jewel's voice at all. If Pit had heard it instead of him, he'd have way less problems!

"Again today I will be soaring through the sky~…" Pit hummed, with a little nostalgia in his voice, the song he had made up one day during the Uprising while he took a closer look at the stone. No signs, no letters on it, no nothing. "My enemies, I'll dish 'em up in a stir fry~…"

Viridi growled in frustration. _"Focus, Pit! I' m not here for your singing, though I must admit that you've gotten better at it. Taking lessons?"_

"Nuh-huh," Pit denied, then he looked up at the ceiling, as if he had a chance of seeing Viridi through it, watching over him. "Viridi, there's really nothing on the stone. I don't see any letter or anything engraved in it."

 _"Well, e_ _ven if there_ were _letters, you wouldn't know what they looked like anyways! Augh! It's so useless, I'm wasting my time here!"_

"Viridi, quit whining and just help me, okay?" Pit asked, a bit too authoritarian to the Goddess' taste.

 _"Don't take that tone with me! You're_ nothing _compared to the wonderful Goddess that I am—_ don't _forget that!"_ Viridi replied, then she sighed. Getting those words out of her chest seemed to have lightened the mood. _"Anyways, what did Pittoo say about the voice itself? Feminine, squeaky like a squirrel's, what else?"_

Pit shrugged, desperate. "No more than that. He's very sensitive whenever we speak about it. Which is why I get the feeling that he's hiding something from me."

 _"Fair enough! I know Pittoo better than_ anyone _, and I also think that this attitude is_ highly _suspicious! Try to get something out of him!"_

The angel of light lifted up the stone, holding it in his palm, and turned it in all the ways without finding anything peculiar or striking about it. Pit raised an eyebrow, thinking of a way to get the information he craved for out of Dark Pit… "How do I do that?" he asked Viridi, hoping she'd have an answer to his question. She was always thinking, right? Now was the time to show it.

The Goddess of Nature groaned, bothered by the fact that this angel couldn't do any damn thing by himself, and thought about an amusing way to get Dark Pit mad at Pit. Surely, that wouldn't lead anywhere, but it'd be so fun to watch! Since she had wasted so much of her time trying to help Pit, she could at least have a little fun. _"Well, why don't you go talk to him about… you know, the weather!"_

Pit nodded and stood right up. "Right! Good idea—Wait a sec… The… weather?" he asked again, puzzled by the simplicity of the talk Viridi suggested, and the Goddess laughed out loud. The angel gritted his teeth. "You're making fun of me, aren't you?"

 _"Were you really thrilled at the idea of talking about the_ weather _to Pittoo?!"_ she laughed hard, imagining very well the course of that fictional conversation they would've had. She'd have loved to see it. _"Hahaha, you stupid dweeb!"_

"Hey!" Pit pouted, then he looked over to Dark Pit's room and walked towards its door. However, he stopped in his tracks. "So, I talk to Pittoo, okay. I just—What about, Viridi? I suppose not… the weather…"

 _"I HAVE AN EVEN BETTER IDEA!"_ she suddenly cried out, enthusiastic at the thought of her evil plan taking place. _"Why not about Palutena? Dark Pit_ loves _that subject so much!"_

"And you're still making fun of me," Pit complained.

Viridi calmed down a little and tried to sound as serious as she could be. She cleared her throat and Pit raised his head a little, listening in closely to what she would say next. He really was clueless, wasn't he? For the first time in her existence, Viridi felt somewhat sorry for Palutena, who had to work with Pit on a daily basis… _"Well, Pit, I don't know! How about you be a big boy and step inside? Just talk about anything that crosses your mind!"_

"You're serious this time?" Pit asked again just to make sure, and Viridi hummed to confirm that she was, indeed, serious. The light angel braced himself when he knocked at Dark Pit's door, expecting to be kicked out as soon as his twin opened the door. Instead of that, Dark Pit looked at him in anger, his book between his hands, and he closed it without glancing away from Pit at any moment. He seemed in a really, really bad mood. Pit gulped and lowered his head. "Pittoo, I—"

"The wall, Pit," Dark Pit warned him again, and Pit immediately nodded and apologized. The dark angel sighed, rolled eyes and opened his door wider so that his twin could walk in. "Now, you have two minutes. Think before you talk."

Pit stepped in the dark, barely lit room, and sat on the edge of the bed. The latter was rather large—much bigger than his own, which was a couple mattresses and a dozen of blankets—and its sheets were both black and purple. He couldn't say he expected anything else coming from his darker counterpart, but he still felt a little disappointed by the obvious lack of warm, light colors that he enjoyed so much. The atmosphere in Dark Pit's room was that of a horror movie watched at midnight… Pit shuddered at the thought. Dark Pit sat next to him, put his closed book on his bedside table, and eyed back at the angel. Pit pondered about what he should and shouldn't say if he didn't want to get thrown out, and after a moment he looked up. "I have been way too insistent about the necklace. I've been obsessing over it and I hope you forgive me for that, Dark Pit."

"For once you said it right, how could I resist?" Dark Pit scoffed, then he leaned in and opened his book again. "Is that all you wanted to tell me, sweet—" he quickly cleared his throat. "I meant to say, Pit?"

Pit shook his head, oblivious to Dark Pit's slip. The dark angel felt quite relieved that his twin didn't mention it, and his eyes fell back to the lines on the pages. Pit stared at him, that same gleam in his blue eyes; oh no, there was so much more… But so much more he couldn't tell. When he met Dark Pit's curious eyes, he glanced away to hide his blush and stood up, rushing towards the door. His voice had died within his throat before he could get words out, before he could express his feelings towards Dark Pit. So instead of being transparent—even though he hated that he had to lie to his twin's face—Pit thought of an alternative and said, as he was about to close the door, that Viridi had told him to say hi. Dark Pit frowned, obviously not convinced, but he didn't insist and went back to reading his book. To be fair, he was rather surprised that Pit hadn't asked for him to read it aloud… Something definitely was off with his behavior, but the dark angel decided not to mind it. This story was way more interesting.

Pit silently, carefully closed the door, and leaned back against it once it was fully shut. He rested the back of his head on it and wondered if he could've said it, if he could've been sincere, if Dark Pit would've been ready to hear it all. But he shook his head thinking about it; he was sure that his dark counterpart would have been anything but up to hear those words coming from him. After all, with the usual reactions he had whenever Pit talked with Magnus… He would hardly believe that the light angel had such feelings towards him and not the human.

Sometimes, Pit pondered whether to let Magnus know or not, but somehow he felt like the human already knew. Surely he noticed the way Pit glanced at Dark Pit, the way he suddenly smiled when the dark, gloomy little angel talked to him—even when it was to mock him or snap at him—and the way that he was completely taken by the other's sight and forgot all company around him. Pit wasn't very cautious about that… He let his feelings guide him, and sometimes he would just ignore Magnus just to stare intensely at Dark Pit's figure.

Viridi cleared her throat, revealing her presence, and Pit jumped, nearly banging his head against the door. _"How did that go, Pit?"_

"Well, I don't know what I expected," the angel of light answered before he picked himself up and walked back to the table. The necklace hadn't moved nor changed, still shining in that light blue glimmer that Pit found so pretty. He thought about putting it around his neck again, however he still needed to study it. They had close to no time to waste, so he would do everything to find the information he wanted. "Let's just get back to this."

 _"Before we do: did you tell him?"_ Viridi inquired—only herself really knew what she was referring to. When she saw Pit raising an eyebrow, she growled and expanded: _"You know, about your_ feelings _for him! I think it's no secret to anyone at this point."_

Pit blushed and hid his face behind his hands. "What makes you say I have any of these?"

 _"You refused to go back to Skyworld—All Gods are aware of that, it spread around pretty quickly! I was_ impressed _by how rich, how brave of an action that was coming from you, and had quite a hard time believing it. So I went to Palutena and saw it with my own two eyes! You had left,"_ Viridi explained. He could almost hear the smirk behind her ridiculously high-pitched voice. _"So I came to the conclusion that you'd done it for someone! And bingo, one point for the Goddess of Nature! Next thing I know, you're staying over at Dark Pit's house!"_

Pit chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head. He tried not to seem too uneasy, despite the fact that he was embarrassed beyond what words could express. Since he didn't want to expand on the reason behind his departure, he instead played it off as though nothing special had happened in the first place. If he told her that Palutena had locked him up in his quarters, she'd ask him questions he had no will to answer. "I have no idea why you'd come to such a conclusion from that, Viridi." He blushed, and she slightly laughed at that.

 _"Aww, you're turning red! Maybe Phosphora was onto something when she said you were cute…"_ she said, still giggling. Pit turned even redder than he was before—he had always had a hard time accepting compliments without dying of embarrassment—and looked away from the necklace. He hesitated to take off his laurel crown, to put an end to the conversation that was unsettling him, but Viridi stopped laughing and became serious again. _"Let's now look at the necklace, I don't have a whole day off like you do, Pit."_

"I took this day off," Pit said, then he smiled proudly as he completed with: "Sometimes, you have to take initiatives."

Viridi groaned, however she did not reply. Instead, she said to concentrate on the stone, to look at it in every way, to scan it with his eyes in order to find even the smallest sign there could be. After a moment of examining the stone, Pit's eye caught a strange detail at the bottom of it, that he had missed all along: a mark, looking like a small mirror. He had no idea what that did there, _why_ it was there to begin with, but he found it intriguing enough to let Viridi know about its existence. The Goddess hummed, rummaged through her thoughts and went off to look for meaning behind such an interesting, unusual mark. Pit, on the other hand, stayed where he was, staring at the little mirror engraved in the stone. "Now that's strange. I wonder if I should go and ask Pittoo about this."

"About what?" the familiar voice of Dark Pit erupted from the overwhelming silence all around Pit, and the light angel jumped in his chair. Dark Pit came closer to him, eyed at the stone, and closed the book that he was still holding in his left hand. He seemed so deadly focused, he even had glasses on his nose. Pit knew it was only a stylish element, that it didn't correct Dark Pit's sight in the slightest, but it still managed to catch him off guard. The dark angel approached his free hand and gently took the necklace off of Pit's palm, inspecting it. "That's a mirror, isn't it?"

Pit nodded and turned towards him. "Do you know what it's doing on the stone?"

"I think I'm starting to understand."

Dark Pit remembered the words of the stone, the fact that it was a 'bridge' between 'one end and another'. He was starting to piece everything together, and his memory arose, reminding him of a place where nobody would be looking for him. The dark angel sighed, closed his eyes, and successfully prevented a single tear from rolling down his cheek. _No need for that conversation right now._ Worried, Pit asked him if he felt alright, if he needed to sit down. Dark Pit found that a good idea and took a seat next to his lighter version, taking his head between his hands and trying not to succumb to the immense sorrow he felt growing in his heart. It had been such a long time. He remembered a time where he'd ask the Gods, he'd pray that he could go back, claimed that he didn't fit in this life. He couldn't count the amount of nights he had stayed up, cuddling to his pillow and begging Zeus or even Hermes to bring him back to where he thought he belonged.

But that was before he found out about his feelings for Pit. Ever since he realized that he had fallen for him, Dark Pit had never asked again. Nonetheless, the necklace was there, in his hands. The key to his freedom, the key to go back to his old life, to his own place. The key to leave everything behind and never look back at it. "It's complicated," Dark Pit said when he felt Pit's eyes on him, demanding for explanations. "You wouldn't understand."

"I could understand anything. Does this have to do with the Mirror of Truth?" Pit inquired, and Dark Pit couldn't help but think that Pit could sometimes be very smart. However, he didn't say anything of the sort, since the light angel probably had no idea why he even emitted that hypothesis in the first place.

Dark Pit shrugged. "I don't know," he lied, looking off to the side. He wrapped his fingers around the necklace before he slammed it against the table, hoping it'd break into pieces. Pit gasped as he did so, and pushed his hand back to look in horror at the stone. Fortunately—or not, to Dark Pit's taste—it wasn't broken in the slightest. The stone still glowed pink and there was nothing to indicate that it nearly had been destroyed at all. "Well, that's too bad."

"Why did you do this, Pittoo?!" Pit cried out, just as he felt his heartbeats slowly calming down. "You could've broken it!"

"I'd hope."

"But why—"

"Magnus is at the door, let's not make him wait, okay?" Dark Pit interrupted Pit. The light angel fluttered his wings to signify that he was not agreeing to this, that they had to talk about what had happened, but his twin stood up and went to the door, opening it to the human.

When he thought about it, he still hadn't opened the sack Magnus had brought a few days earlier. Strangely enough, it had no smell, so he assumed that this time it was not the decapitated head of one of their enemies. The human stepped in and his eyes immediately fell on Pit. "Hey you two angels, thought you'd enjoy to go out."

Pit seemed hesitant, for whatever reason, and grasped onto Magnus' shirt. He looked at Dark Pit, who had been sitting on the chair he previously occupied and was scanning his book with his red eyes, and whispered for the human to follow him outside. Magnus shrugged and agreed to it, since he didn't really mind either way.

Pit pulled him outside, glad that his darker twin hadn't noticed them walk out, and bit his lower lip nervously. How could he explain the situation and keep it as short as possible, before Dark Pit looked up from his book and realized that they were gone? Everything was just so complicated. He wasn't even sure that he had… those feelings for his darker version, but for some reason he still needed to talk about them to Magnus. He knew how well he could trust him, he was his friend since the Uprising… Plus, if he had been right, Magnus would already have noticed it. He really didn't have anything to lose. Pit ruffed his hair, uneasy though, and briefly looked off farther into the street. The sun was already starting to get low, he couldn't waste anymore time than he already had. "Magnus, I wanted to tell you about something."

The human nodded. "Yeah, that's what I understood. You seem worried, is everything okay?"

The angel of light gulped down, trying not to be too scared since it wasn't the end of the world. He was just going to… voice out what had been hidden within. It really shouldn't be that hard, should it? He clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and could hear his heart panicking in his chest. Although he was paralyzed with fear, he still managed to open his sapphire eyes and look right into Magnus' gray orbs. "I'm fine! I'm okay, though we should keep our voices down."

Magnus crossed his arms against his chest, waiting for Pit to speak up. What was going on with him? Was he alright? His cheeks were blood red and his eyes started to sweat with tears… He had rarely seen his brave angel friend so worried about something. He guessed that it had to do with Dark Pit, since he insisted that they should keep their voices low, but what was it? Right as he asked himself that question, the human remarked strange scars on his friend's shoulders and frowned; did Dark Pit hurt him? Was it why he wanted to keep it secret? Did his darker version beat him up? From what he knew, it wasn't such a rare occasion, since Pit had told him several times that they sparred a lot. Did they spar again, but this time, it didn't end well? Was it why the dark angel was so focused on ignoring his lighter counterpart? There were so many questions… But Pit had remained silent, biting his lower lip. "Angel face, we don't have the whole day. Just tell me what's wrong."

Pit nodded and shut his eyes firmly. He stopped breathing, bracing himself, before he succeeded at getting it all out in one shot: "I love him."

The human's eyes looked deadpanned. So that was it? He already knew that, it was rather obvious: that look in Pit's eyes, every time he looked at Dark Pit, fooled absolutely nobody. He was even surprised that the dark angel hadn't noticed, maybe he had, since it was so visible. Perhaps that was why he didn't want to talk to him, and instead focused his attention on a book. Magnus wasn't exactly a professional when it came to relationship issues, for he never had to face situations like this one. Gaol had accepted him pretty easily, so… How could he be of any help?

Pit blinked, waiting for an answer, and Magnus cleared his throat. "Excuse me. I already knew, Pit, you're not very discreet."

"I'm not?"

Magnus shook his head negatively, and glanced in the sky only to see that the sun was getting lower and lower. They shouldn't spend too much time talking if they wanted to go for a walk. Magnus didn't really know where they could be going, maybe a tour of the town? He'd see with the two angels where they wanted to go. At the moment, the human was more interested by the conversation. "No, you're not, angel face. So that's why he's avoiding you? He has realized what was going on? You two argued?"

Pit furrowed his brows and shook his head. "Oh no no no! He doesn't know."

"How could he not?" Magnus chuckled. "Your eyes shine whenever you look at him, and you think he didn't see that?"

The light angel looked off to the side, thinking about what the human had said. Yes, he wasn't the most secretive person, with his big expressive eyes, but… Dark Pit had never mentioned anything. He hadn't talked about a 'weird' look that Pit might have given him at any time, he… He hadn't seemed to realize. Or did he know? Did he know and refused to talk about it because he wasn't interested? He knew that Dark Pit wasn't really into conversations around those types of subjects… Maybe it was his way of telling him: 'No thank you'? Pit's heart sank at the thought; maybe he had hoped for too much. He should've known that it wouldn't be possible between them, they… they were like brothers in Dark Pit's eyes. Brothers that sometimes hated each other. Why would he be looking into a relationship with his reflection? Plus, he always told Pit that he was an idiot, a stupid, a moron… Those were not exactly pet names. Pit lowered his head, tears menacing to flow out of his eyes, then turned away from Magnus. "Then he doesn't like me…"

Magnus frowned, confused. "What do you mean, he doesn't like you?"

"He's never told me that he had noticed," Pit explained, heartbroken. He hugged himself, since the cold wind made him shiver. But he couldn't resolve to walk back in the house, not now that he knew… "If he didn't, that means he's not interested… Right? That's his way of saying it, since he doesn't like to talk."

The human sighed and gently put his hands over the angel's shoulders. "Now now. I don't think that's it. You know, I can overlook a lot of things, but what I see when Dark Pit looks at you is not hatred; quite the opposite. How about, you tell him how you feel. Hm? We're going out tonight, that's the perfect occasion for that. Then, he can tell you what he thinks of it. Sounds good?"

Pit looked over his shoulder with a slight smile plastered on his lips. His eyes started shining again, like they always did in the presence of Dark Pit or whenever he thought of him, and the angel turned around fully to face his human friend. He took him in a warm embrace. "Thanks Magnus. You're always of great help."

"I'm your friend, that's what I'm here for," Magnus smiled. "Then? Shall we get going?"

"I have one request," Pit said. The human raised an eyebrow, and Pit looked up at him with glistening blue eyes. "We get to go to the forest. It's the most romantic place I know."

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 _To be continued…_

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 **Updated: 02/11/2019**


	7. Chapter 6: Breaking the ice

_**Hello and good evening everyone! I hope you're all doing well :) Here I come with the sixth chapter, the writing process is easy and very enjoyable (I honestly thought it'd be more troublesome). Hope you'll enjoy this new chapter!**_

 _ **Yours truly, Circle of J.**_

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 **/!\ Warning: Mild gore elements /!\**

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 **Disclaimer: ****I do not own the characters from the Kid Icarus series. The deities mentioned are taken from Greek Mythology, remastered the way I imagine them. What I own, on the other hand, is the plot.**

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 **Kid Icarus: Heirs of the Light**

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 _Chapter_ _6: Breaking the ice_

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Walking in a forest, surrounded by nature and its creatures, had a soothing aspect to itself. Following Magnus' invitation, the trio composed of Pit, Dark Pit and Magnus decided to talk out their differences during a nice trip in the forest bording the city. Dark Pit was rather reluctant at first, since he felt the rivalry that Magnus had established between them, but he did what he had to do to spend some time in Pit's company. The angel and the human really liked each other, so much so that they could barely stay three days without seeing one another. Dark Pit needed to keep an eye on these two, for his own sanity.

It had been ten days since the incident with the Centurions, and Pit had told the human every little detail about it. They were almost inseparable, much to Dark Pit's jealousy—because _he_ struggled to get anything out of the light angel. Thus he took it upon himself to stay behind, watching the two 'friends' chatting around or laughing about anything and everything that they had experienced in the last few days—the main focus of the day was the stone incident. Every time they took a walk together, Dark Pit would never interfere, never speak up, never even smile at their jokes. Sometimes Pit would look at him, wondering if he was okay, but he'd just shrug and tell him to mind his own business.

Dark Pit thought about the attack of the Centurions on his own, behind the two friends, and sighed. Fortunately for them, they hadn't tried to sneak into their new house. The dark angel was pretty glad: he liked the little bit of privacy and tranquility that he could get when coming home after a long fight. The enemies had been toughening up lately; he wished Pandora would come back already. Sometimes, he heard Viridi's voice calling him out, commanding his actions, but he'd remain silent and focus on the battle at hand. Then his thoughts drifted towards the necklace and the words it had told him. He wondered about the mirror engraved in the stone, even though there was no real questioning behind it: he knew it was linked with the Mirror of Truth. All that was left to do was… taking a decision. Going back, or staying. He rolled eyes at the thought: that'd be a long debate he'd reserve for his sleepless nights. Until then, he needed to take his mind off of it.

Dark Pit groaned when Magnus took his angel in a friendly but warm and seemingly agreeable embrace—if Pit's shining eyes showed anything of his delight. "Quit it, you two!" he said, shaking his head. His heart hurt him enough, he didn't need any of this to happen in front of his very eyes.

"What did we do?" Pit asked, puzzled, and Dark Pit gritted his teeth.

"Just—No need to be so demonstrative."

After what he said, the dark angel caught the two 'lovebirds' glancing at him and sighed, looking away with a pained expression glued to his face. Why did he feel that way? What was going on with him lately, why was he so… protective towards Pit? He'd never acted this way before… It seemed almost uncanny; did the necklace mesmerize him? Did he really absorb something from its glow that day he was introduced to it and simply felt attracted to Pit for no reason whatsoever? Pit was a dumbass! An idiot, a stupid little baby that whined all the dang time because he left his precious Goddess. Dark Pit clicked his tongue at the thought that he could be falling for Pit and shook his head again. No way, it was impossible. It was just this mission, the fact that they had to live together that drove him insane. Magnus walked up to Dark Pit and surprised him when he put a hand on his shoulder. The angel jumped and moved back, distancing himself from the tall, tough human that he hated in spite of his constant kindness towards him. "Don't ever touch me! Got that? You have no right to touch me—nobody does!"

"Woah, calm down, angel…"

Pit wanted to intervene, to hold Magnus back, but then he thought that it'd be better to let those two have a little talk. So he sat down on the grass, fidgeting with a stick that he found on the ground next to him. His white tunic was probably going to be ruined, tainted with green, but he could not care less at the moment. He was focused on the two men that he tried not to look at too insistently. Dark Pit's eyes drifted towards his twin who sat there, silent, playing with a stupid piece of wood. Magnus attempted to smile to the dark angel, only to fail miserably because smiling wasn't… something he was used to do. "I think we should settle there for a while," the human suggested, and Pit vigorously nodded before springing up to his feet.

"I'll get some more wood for a good old camp fire!"

"We're not camping here—" Dark Pit tried to say, but he was quickly made aware that nobody had paid attention to his words. Pit ran off to the deep forest, in order to fetch some wood, while Magnus sat down, next to that stick that the light angel had left behind.

Magnus took it in his hands, examined it pretty closely until he seemed to notice a strange detail about it. Indeed, there was one of Pit's hair on the thing, stuck on it, and the human had to guess that he tried brushing the stick through his hair. Dark Pit glared at Magnus, did not say anything, but it wasn't long until he couldn't keep his mouth shut: "Ugh… For fuck's sake. He simply never listens! So, what do we do until he comes back? I do not want to talk to you."

"But I think it'd be a good idea to talk things out," Magnus said, then he looked up at the angel who seemed even more annoyed than he previously was. To illustrate his contained fury, he tapped his foot on the ground and breathed heavily through the nose. "I've noticed the way you look at him. Don't be jealous, there's nothing between Pit and I."

"Mhm, why'd I trust that? Plus, it's not like I'd care about Pit…"

Magnus tried to smile again, to break the tension between them, and wondered about a subject that would be less… touchy for the dark angel than Pit. He felt like the kid had been through a lot, maybe talking about his experiences would help him being less stuck-up, and perhaps he'd even understand why he had such reactions. Magnus felt like the little guy had no idea what took over him sometimes. If his own reactions to events could surprise him, that meant that he wasn't fully aware of what was happening inside of his own soul. If Magnus could help him with that—and he'd try his best, for Pit's sake since he seemed to like him so much—then he was willing to give it a shot. The human eyed back at the dark angel who did not sit next to him yet. "Let's talk about you then, dark angel face. Tell me more about you."

"How about no?" Dark Pit spit out, gritting his teeth. "Maybe if we just keep quiet, it's better for everyone."

Magnus sighed and was about to give up on trying to get something out of this dark, gloomy angel, when said angel looked back at him and asked, raising an eyebrow: "You know what, what about you? How did you get to know Pit—since you want to talk about him so badly, hm?"

The human found that question quite interesting and, since it didn't bother him to explain, he started. Dark Pit stared at him with dark, threatening eyes, and finally decided to sit down next to the mortal so that he could focus on what he was telling him. He wanted as much information on the subject as he could get, for… some reason that he wasn't sure of himself, to be fair. He just felt like he needed to protect Pit, and for that he needed to know every single thing that revolved around him—including his friends and possible 'crush'. Magnus didn't feel so uncomfortable speaking about the subject, as if he had nothing to hide about the way he felt for his friend. He never mentioned anything about love, about any kind of sexual or sentimental interest towards the light angel.

Instead, he assured Dark Pit that there was nothing of the sort between them, that they were not attracted to one another, despite what the dark angel had been thinking for a while. Magnus turned to him once he was done telling him everything about him and Pit, and smiled, wrapping his arms around his legs that he brought up to his chest. It had gotten colder with time, and Pit still hadn't came back from his fetching of branches. Dark Pit wondered if something had happened to him, but didn't have time to react before Magnus spoke up again: "I don't think you should be worried, dark angel face. Again, I tell you: I noticed the gleam in Pit's eyes when they fall on you. It's not just friendship he sees."

"Oh, is this a supposed to be a riddle or do you intend to be fucking clearer?!" Dark Pit snapped at him, before he simply shrugged his shoulder and exhaled deeply. "I don't see any sort of affection in the way he looks at me."

"Maybe you really need glasses."

"Oh, aren't you funny?!" Dark Pit groaned, and an awkward silence fell between them.

That was, until the curious human turned towards Dark Pit. "So? Now, what's your story, little guy? From your reactions, you must have been through a lot. Bad experiences with previous friends? A lover, perhaps?"

"Don't you psychoanalyze me," Dark Pit growled, but in the end he agreed to explain what was haunting him ever since he came out of the Mirror of Truth. He sat on his knees and glanced down at the grass that he faintly caressed with the tip of his fingers. His expression had hardened, his eyes had grown darker as well. After a brief moment of silence, he collected himself and managed to get the first painful words that he forbade himself to use around anyone for more than two months. "Before I came through the Mirror of Truth, I was part of another world; an alternate dimension, where all the Gods had went rogue after the end of the Days of Light and planned on invading human cities. Nobody challenged their authority, because Gods were commonly feared and threatened anyone who stood on their path. I was the only one deciding to take the chance, since I had nothing left to lose."

Magnus kept quiet, giving time to the dark angel so that he could feel comfortable telling him about his story. That wasn't one story that one heard every night to go to sleep; it was complicated, mostly to admit. Being part of another world and being forcefully ripped away from it must have been a catastrophic experience in this dark angel's mind and heart. Everything he knew had been twisted.

Dark Pit raised his head and looked right at Magnus, then he cleared his throat to wipe away the sorrow that was accumulating, making his voice weak and shaky. "I went up against the Gods who were using a similar mirror to create malevolent battalions. Entire armies were made in less than a snap. Somebody had to stop the massacre, so I took it upon myself to go up to Zeus' castle and destroy that cursed mirror, even though I wasn't allowed there. Now of course, that didn't go as planned… I was quickly discovered lurking around, and had to rush to the mirror before the guards caught me. So I stormed into Zeus' private quarters, taking care of the two guards that were there and waited for me, and dived foot first into that mirror. Now next thing I knew? I was standing in the middle of a strange, round-ish room with a white copy of myself, and what I thought was a Goddess who claimed I was there to serve her."

The human waited for him to continue, which Dark Pit found difficult to do—maybe too difficult to actually commit to it. Memories arose and he recalled the awful feeling of loss, of confusion and, above all, of breathtaking fear. But he also remembered the pride, the urge to show off as a strong leader—which he had always been in his dimension since he had been banished—and the attitude that, despite his pain, he managed to put on. He was somewhat proud of himself for that, really. He smirked at the thought, he could almost see it all again. "I was scared, confused, but I didn't let them see any of it. Nobody knows where I come from, everyone assumes the Mirror of Truth created me and that I'm Pit's 'darker side'. Nobody knows who I am—well, nobody but you now. Can I trust that you'll keep this a secret from Pit?"

Magnus nodded, taken aback by the strange, chaotic revelations, then decided to ask some questions. Perhaps talking this out would help Dark Pit to cope better with his feelings. Losing everything, he knew what that felt like: he had lost his entire family in less than a week. Magnus knew what it was to be overwhelmed, to be broken and, mainly, frightened at the idea of living that new life without anything familiar in it. "Did you have a family, dark angel face?"

"No, I never did," Dark Pit answered, smirking once again to hide the emotional wreck he was inside. He couldn't tell him about his mother… He missed her so much, but he really didn't want to start talking about her. She had been the only one who had stayed with him, despite his banishment, despite the fact that everyone wanted him out of their lives for good. Dark Pit shook his head, setting those thoughts aside. "What's the point of a family?"

"Friends?"

"No, not either," the black angel replied. He stared off into the profound forest in which Pit had vanished about thirty minutes prior, and his eyes drifted off to the ground. "I was alone, so it really doesn't feel different here."

Magnus looked at him with warm, caring eyes. "It should, shouldn't it? What about Pit? You like him, don't you?"

"No!" Dark Pit countered, his face turning completely red. He was tensed, his dark teal wings stretched out almost completely. "I loathe him, he's _stupid_!"

"Right~!"

"Shut up!"

Before Magnus could add anything else, though he'd have loved to, the two men heard Pit's voice calling out: "Pittoo! Magnus!", as well as swift steps running in their direction. Dark Pit was the first one to turn around and jump on his feet, only to get crashed into by a frightened young angel. Pit's heart was beating so fast that his twin thought something terrible had happened. Had he been attacked? Why was he crying, what happened? He didn't come back with any branch or stick, and his hands were shaking so hard that he couldn't even hold Dark Pit's hand properly. The dark angel shot him a confused glance, to which Pit answered by pointing to the forest that he just ran out of. Magnus stood up, but obviously none of them had brought any sort of weapon. They weren't exactly thinking that they'd have to fight; Pit had hoped that it'd just be a nice journey to rest with his friends. Dark Pit pulled Pit closer to him and wrapped his arms around his body in a protective manner, so that if an enemy appeared out of nowhere, he wouldn't get hurt on accident.

Magnus turned towards the two angels, rather serious, and looked over to the dark forest. "The sun's setting. If we want to catch whatever scared angel face, we'd better head in there right now."

"I think it's wiser to stay here," Dark Pit retorted, standing his ground with a trembling Pit squeezed all against him. He tried his best to warm the little angel who hugged him really tight while thinking of a way to attack the thing that had scared him so much. Whatever—or whoever—it was, it needed to be dealt with, or else it'd come back when they turned their backs and would target Pit. That was one thing that Dark Pit would never allow. "Look, Magnus, this thing is probably heading here, if it wasn't scared itself by Pit's loud and unnerving screams. Maybe it was just a forest creature that looked scary in the dark."

"That's highly possible. After all, angel face is easily afraid," Magnus agreed.

"Mostly when he's far away from his Goddess."

Pit was way too shocked to say anything, he already had trouble catching his breath. What he had seen… it walked on all fours but he was sure that it was way too big to be a regular wolf. It wasn't on fire, that was one reassuring fact… However, it still did not comfort him. The shadow cast on the tree was huge! A wolf couldn't look that big, could it? Pit was not sure anymore. The first thing he had thought was to run away and reach Dark Pit's position when he had seen the monster lurking around. He had been fetching branches for about forty minutes when he encountered that thing… He had feared his heart would explode! Suddenly, drawing the trio's attention, a loud growl came from the leaves of one of the trees. That was surely the monster coming back to eat Pit… "It's the monster!" Pit cried out. "It came back for me! It wants my soul!"

"Hey, shh, okay?" Dark Pit said, then he tightened his grip around Pit's body. "You're safe, no need to be such a wimp."

The light angel gulped and shielded himself in Dark Pit's arms. He felt somewhat safer every time his twin was there with him during a battle: together, they could obliterate any form of evil, they had shown it with the Centurions! They were unbeatable! Though this time, Pit didn't have his weapons of choice, and neither did his dark counterpart. But that did not seem to worry Dark Pit, for he took one glance around and raised his open hand in the air. Perhaps he… expected something to happen, but nothing quite did. The dark angel groaned. "Come on, what's taking you so long?!"

 _"You'll excuse me, but you didn't say 'please'! I'm not your personal assistant, Dark Pit!"_ Viridi growled.

"Please, is it really time for that?!" Dark Pit snapped at her, growling in rage while holding Pit close to him. The monster was moving towards them, despite Magnus trying to catch its attention and keep it distracted. "Viridi!"

 _"Okay, okay… But only_ this _time, you've been warned!"_

The monster Pit had seen in the forest jumped next to Magnus and was about to maul his face when a light green glow enveloped Dark Pit's hand. A familiar shape formed itself in his hand and, soon after, he wrapped his fingers around the Rose Blade—Viridi's favorite weapon besides her Palm. "Took you long enough," he sighed.

 _"Leave it to a Goddess to make a_ flashing _entrance!"_ Viridi exclaimed, proud of herself and the visuals that she had put on. _"Now, show no mercy!"_

Dark Pit sighed again. "I wasn't going to, you know." Still holding Pit with his left arm, the dark angel glared at the big wolf that tried to devour Magnus—who was stalling, punching the wolf in the muzzle until Dark Pit had recovered his weapon. The creature turned its eyes to Dark Pit and it sprung on its legs, ready to bite his arm off. The dark angel charged his weapon, keeping a straight face in spite of how close the wolf had gotten, and eventually he pushed Pit to the side. Still charging his weapon, he slashed through the monster's furry throat, forcing it to move back. The wolf barked and tried to bite the dark angel.

However, he successfully evaded the attack by launching himself on the ground. He cursed, looking at his weapon which was only half charged, and screamed at Magnus to bring Pit to shelter. The human nodded and ran towards Pit, but the angel tried to push him off, willing to stay in order to help his dark counterpart in his fight. The wolf tried to stomp on Dark Pit with its big paws, attempting to squash his head beneath them, but the angel had sharp reflexes and always managed to pull away at the last second. Eventually, the Blade started shining, indicating that it was fully charged and ready for a finishing blow.

Dark Pit dodged the paws of the monster and sprung to his feet, right in the wolf's back. When the creature turned around, about to bite Dark Pit's head off of his neck, the angel shot an extremely powerful beam out of his Rose Blade, piercing through the wolf's mouth. It completely blew up the monster's head, spraying its brain juice all over the two angels that stood in front of it.

Magnus quickly looked up after he had been blinded by the light emanating from the ravaging attack, and checked on the dark angel who had his foot on the creature's bloody snout. "Are you okay, dark angel face?"

Dark Pit snorted at the question and folded his arms. "Did you expect me to be wounded?"

Magnus rolled his eyes, thinking that he should've expected that answer from Dark Pit, and noticed that Pit's eyes had lowered to the grass. Concerned, he called out his name, trying to catch his attention, but it didn't work out as well as he'd hoped. Instead, Pit shook from head to toe and Dark Pit briefly looked at him before checking on the creature he had killed off so easily, almost effortlessly. Pit blinked, unable to process what he had just witnessed; since when was Dark Pit so strong? Taking out an enemy in one single shot… That was something even Pit himself couldn't do, with years of training under his belt. If his weapon was a cannon, he'd have understood, but it was a simple, regular blade… That being said, maybe Viridi overcharged it so that one shot would be enough. After all, he had… demanded the weapon to the Goddess, so why not suppose that?

Dark Pit clicked his tongue, which brought him back to reality. "Are we moving or what? It's getting cold here, and we still need to get some sticks for the fire pit."

"What, you called me Pittoo?" Pit asked, raising his head, perplexed. "I wasn't listening…"

Dark Pit shot him a glance that clearly meant something like: 'I noticed, shut up' and turned towards Magnus, telling him that he was heading towards the forest to try and find the sticks Pit had stacked up. Pit looked confused and was about to protest, to remind his twin that he was the one to refuse camping in the forest, but he just kept his mouth shut. Magnus sat down next to Pit and rubbed his back to warm him up and also reassure him, while Dark Pit was off into the dark, creepy forest. Pit didn't dare to look directly into his friend's eyes, ashamed that he could not defend himself and had to rely on his twin to do the trick. If it wasn't for the dark angel, he'd probably be bleeding out on the ground, with parts of his body in the monster's grumbling stomach. He shuddered at the thought, remembering a certain episode where he had to travel down Hades' insides. Yuck.

Magnus sat in silence, waiting for the angel to express himself. He knew he was a talkative little guy, just needed to warm him up a bit and assure him that nothing threatened him anymore for him to open up. And that was precisely what he did after a few more seconds of calm. "I'm defenseless, it's hard to get used to."

"You just didn't have your weapons, angel face, otherwise I know you'd have taken care of this big dog," Magnus said, convinced of his own words. But Pit was a little less.

The angel shook his head and pulled his legs to his chest, so that he could rest his head on his knees. He wrapped his arms around them and buried his face, letting sorrow take over him. Without Palutena's powers, without her light, without her care, he was nothing; his wings hurt him, had lost a lot of their feathers, and he felt weaker than usual. His entire body felt rather… limp. That was why he knew that, even with his trusty bow in hand, he wouldn't have beaten the wolf: he could barely lift his arms for more than five seconds at a time.

In fact, he knew that he had to go back to Palutena's side, but… at the same time, the thought alone drove him mad. After what she had said about Dark Pit and the way that she hadn't seemed to care if he died, and also how she had locked him up in his room without a single care in the world… He couldn't go back and fight by her side as if he was okay with it all, because he wasn't and would never be. Pit sighed, lost in thoughts. No, he'd not go back until he was forced to, which wasn't yet the case. He could hold onto the necklace, which somehow brought him a little more energy every time he wore it around his neck. Lately, he'd been keeping it on, even during the night, to charge up his own batteries at its contact. It would last the time it would… Until then, he couldn't keep worrying about it day and night.

Pit raised his head, holding in his tears and wiping his cheeks with the back of his hand. "With how weak my body is, I would be plain useless in battle. When Lady Palutena is far, I lose my strength."

"Even your wittiness, it seems."

"Witti-what?"

"It means your humor. Angel face, what I mean by that is that you're usually much more reactive," Magnus said, now a little more concerned. "You'd listen to my every words and throw puns at my face all the time. Now you're just… strange, but I'm not sure it's a bad thing."

Pit gulped at those words but kept his confusion hidden deep inside of him. He looked up at Magnus and attempted to smile and act like his usual, overwhelmingly positive self, but something just didn't match. Pit sighed again, defeated by his own emotions. "I just realize… with time… that I'm not as invincible as I'd like to think."

"You've never been invincible," Dark Pit's voice arose, startling the two friends who were sharing a private conversation. The dark angel smirked and set all the branches that he had found on his way, before he took out two stones and handed them to Magnus. Meanwhile, Pit had looked up to him and a true, sincere smile had appeared on his lips. His twin replied to the smile with a pat on the smaller angel's head before he continued to speak: "You were never meant to be invincible. I know the events of the Uprising made you feel that way—since you decimated at least two Gods and their commanders—but you are not unbeatable. Nobody is, Pit-stain. If you get up, I'll show you how weak you truly are."

Pit chuckled and made sure not to stand up, still curled up in a ball in the middle of the grass. "Still, you must admit, Pittoo: my usual fighting is amazing, right?"

 _I swear I'm hearing Viridi right now_ , Dark Pit thought with a huge grin on his lips. He shook his head, exasperated by his twin's narcissism, and offered a hand to help him to his feet—just because he felt pity for him, no other reason. "Y'know, it's really not that great. Could easily kick your ass if I intended to."

"How about you try when I'm fully recovered, Pittoo?"

"It'd be my pleasure, Pit-stain."

"Would you two lovebirds give me a hand here? I need more wood, can you go and get me some?" Magnus interrupted the childish 'who's-the-strongest' argument, and the two angels looked at each other before deciding to head to the forest together. The human knew exactly why Pit had insisted on following his darker version into the forest: it was time for _the_ talk that they mentioned before going. Magnus smiled to himself, and crossed his fingers for his friend. Those two were quite the pair, he'd love to see where their relationship would lead them and how they would manage. He knew that they could stand the distance. They just needed to admit having feelings for one another, that was the hardest step, and he knew that from experience.

He remembered the way he acted with Gaol when she was still alive and chuckled lightly; these angels were the same: frienemies. If he could even call them friends, since they looked so much alike. Twins would be a more fitting word to describe their relationship: they always compared themselves to the other, when really there wasn't much difference between them both. Yes, their personalities seemed opposed on the picture but they shared the same values and views on things. If Magnus could draw any conclusion from what Dark Pit had explained to him about his background, the two angels valued justice above all things, and the defeat of Evil—whoever incarnated it in their eyes. They'd move entire mountains to get to their objective.

The main difference, the striking one between the two, was the idea of loyalty, which was so engrained in Pit's mindset but so overwhelmingly absent of his twin's. While the light angel craved security and protection from a Goddess, his dark counterpart was free to go wherever he wanted, never owing anything to anyone and profoundly despising the idea of surrendering to a God, for he knew that they would abuse their power.

Magnus thought that Dark Pit must have had such an experience in his other dimension. That would explain his strong reluctance when it came to talking about the Gods. That would also explain why he seemed to loathe Palutena, his twin's 'owner' and Goddess. This idea that someone could be superior to him drove the dark angel completely insane: he needed to be in permanent control of his actions. Letting a God hold the wheel would frighten him, for he would be unable to act and speak for himself.

Although all of this was an hypothesis, that was the closest Magnus could get to the two angels' character with what he was made aware of.

* * *

.oOo.

* * *

"Come on now, get off! I'm serious!"

"Not happening!"

"Pleeeease~! Pittooooo~! I need to taaaaaalk~!"

"Nope, not right now!"

Pit laughed and did all he could to push Dark Pit off of him, even ready to grab a few leaves and throw them at his face if he didn't stand up right away. "Stop tickling meeeee~!" he begged between two laughs.

"Oh, is that _begging_ I hear in your voice, Pit?" Dark Pit sneered.

Pit shook his head in a challenging way. "Nuh-huh, never!"

The dark angel raised an eyebrow and dropped the few branches he still held in his left hand to tickle his twin with his two hands—which made the light angel hardly able to breathe. Those sticks were the few that they had found while walking around—mostly because they had stepped on them—under the sun's golden light. It was such a warm, comfortable atmosphere, and Pit's presence was such a blessing to Dark Pit that he barely looked around for wood at all. He preferred to torture his twin with merciless tickling, to push him around, to grab his arm and pull him back, or even just to bother him with words—calling him out by saying 'Pit-stain' several times in a row had proved itself to be more efficient than he first thought. When Pit had said that he wanted to talk about something serious, Dark Pit had jumped on the occasion to tackle him and start tickling him again. He hated serious conversations with Pit; he preferred hearing him laugh his heart out.

Dark Pit scoffed and leaned in—under Pit's loud breaths. He then took a closer look at that mysterious necklace that glowed pink since he'd been touching it after it had rested on Pit's skin. He couldn't help but notice that the light was growing stronger, and wondered how it had taken that additional shine. Maybe it charged up with the light of the sun? Light and light equals more light, right? He didn't think there was any other explanation; after all, this thing was magical. It hadn't been in contact with any sort of magical element whatsoever, so it could only be the result of the sun rays reflecting on it. That stone was a very smart, well-crafted item. "So what's it telling you?" Dark Pit asked his twin, eyeing at him to see his reaction.

The light angel had a slight smile when he said that. "It doesn't speak to me, you know that. Though I feel that we're getting closer. The more we fight Underworld forces, the stronger it gets. But I wanted to—"

"Yeah, sure, why not. Still, you need to watch out, Pit-stain," Dark Pit warned his twin, interrupting him at the same time, after he started frowning. He probably thought about something, but since Pit wasn't gifted with mind reading, he had no way of knowing exactly what happened to him. Dark Pit being serious wasn't a rare occurrence, however this time felt sudden. The dark angel inhaled deeply and his fingers wrapped around Pit's necklace, moving it around to examine its every features. "If this thing leads you to Medusa, you won't be able to fight her in your… current state."

Pit shrugged. "You'd be with me!" he said with lots of enthusiasm.

Dark Pit snorted and rolled eyes, still laying down on top of his white counterpart. Why'd he stand up? He felt perfectly fine like this, he felt closer to his twin and that was all he wanted at the moment. With that strange jewel bonding them, he felt the urge to hang out with Pit stronger than he ever did in the past. "I can't always protect you, you have to deal with enemies on your own sometimes too. I'm not your precious Palutena—nor a Guardian Orbitar, mind you."

"Now that's a shame, I would've loved to see that! I can pretty much imagine you gravitating around me with lasers shooting out of your eyes!" Pit laughed. He could picture it and the idea was so exciting. The angel glanced at the other and, after a moment, he pushed Dark Pit's fingers off of his necklace. "Please, stop fidgeting with it. You're going to break it with your big fingers!"

"Tell you what: you've got the exact same fingers!" Dark Pit briefly snapped at him, then he faked pouting before speaking his thoughts once again, like he often did with Pit. They were almost the same person—'two sides of the same coin', as he once put it himself—so there was no shame in being transparent with him. "Say, about what you told me when we agreed to work together: you're still thinking of leaving after we've solved this?" he asked, slightly touching the glowing stone under Pit's curious eyes.

The light angel felt like his voice had died inside his throat, however he managed to clear it up and look right into Dark Pit's wide-opened rubies. "We've got time to figure it out, am I not right? Even though we're drawing closer to the enemy, and probably closer to saving Aphrodite from Medusa's evil, we're not quite there yet."

"Do you mean that you don't know what you'll do?" Dark Pit inquired, narrowing his eyes at his twin.

Pit hesitated but told him straight up what his heart was screaming: "It's just that… I sort of miss Lady Palutena. My body is tired to be away from her. The sooner I go back, the sooner I'll be kicking and be ready to help you defeat your enemies."

"How long would that take you, you think?"

"I don't know… If she doesn't lock me up again, around a month?" Pit suggested, and the answer he gave did not please his dark counterpart. Indeed, he looked off and stood right up, collecting the sticks lying on the cold ground and turning his back to Pit. The light angel jumped on his feet and reached out to grab Dark Pit's arm, but he was a little too late and missed him by an inch. "Hey, wait up Pittoo!"

Dark Pit stopped in his track, though he did not look back. "Don't you call me that, and forget we had this conversation," he demanded of his twin, but Pit shook his head in disbelief.

"Wait, no, I had something to—"

"And I have no will to hear about it!" Dark Pit snapped at him, glowering at his light twin, then he started walking back to Magnus' position, which was visible thanks to the small fire that he had managed to start in their absence.

The human turned towards them when the two angels walked up to the camp fire, and Dark Pit handed the dozen of sticks that they'd find on their way back. Magnus took them and set them to help the fire grow, while Pit rubbed his hands in order to warm himself up. The evenings on the Overworld were deadly cold and windy; he'd catch a cold if he stayed outside for too long in those conditions. Dark Pit eyed at his light counterpart, focused but not intending to say a word. He could still hear Pit's words echoing in his mind, he could still decipher what he really meant to say: he wouldn't come back, he'd leave and hope that his twin would forget about him entirely.

But Dark Pit wouldn't, he'd never, he… He would still cherish the memories, the times that they had spent together. Because Pit was his _friend_ , his only, first ever friend. _Yeah, your 'friend', Dark Pit_ , his heart mocked him, but the angel decided not to pay attention. Dark Pit had arrived in a dimension where he knew nothing, no one, where he wasn't aware of the situation. The Gods, Palutena… They weren't the ones he remembered them to be. And there was another angel, when the God he previously served, Hermes, said that there had only been one angel ever created.

Dark Pit's thoughts connected back to what the necklace had told him… If Pit wasn't coming back, maybe he should accept to be led back to his own dimension. Maybe he should accept that they were never meant to be, that Pit had no intention to stay close to him after he had dealt with the problem. The dark angel's heart suddenly ached; he had hoped for so much… Yet, he was back to the real world, to how things really were between them. There was no fantasy realm where they lived together, there was no… whatever he thought was between them. Realization hit him stronger than he had thought it would. Why did he hope for anything at all? He'd never been… romantic before. He'd never believed that he would get in such a complicated situation.

Pit was… charming, he caught everyone off guard and seduced them without even noticing it. And in the end, when he took the decision to step aside and go back to Palutena, he managed to hurt everyone else in the process… In order not to think about it too much, Dark Pit shook his head to come back to reality. He saw that Magnus and Pit were talking in a low voice, sitting right next to one another and laughing. The light angel seemed so disappointed, yet his eyes twinkled with delight when he looked right at his human friend. Dark Pit wished that glow, that shimmer was reserved to him; he wished that he'd been the only one to ever receive it.

Pit looked over to his darker counterpart and tried to smile, showing his perfect white teeth, before he turned back towards Magnus and talked to him again. Dark Pit blinked, blushed, and turned away with a groan. He clenched his fists; why did he feel so helpless when Pit stared at him? All of this made no sense to him, this urge to come closer to him, this strong desire to touch that creamy skin of his… Dark Pit gritted his teeth and tried to control the hard, fast beats of his heart. "Pittoo, come with us!" Pit encouraged him.

"No, I'm not into chit-chatting," Dark Pit answered rather roughly, crossing arms against his chest. "I let _you_ do the talking; you love to talk anyways. I just wish I had brought a good book."

"I don't think that's a bad thing that I like to talk!" Pit reacted, frowning. He then stood on his feet, a hand on Magnus' shoulder, and decided to start their conversation again, for he wasn't finished with Dark Pit. The dark angel glared at him dangerously, menacingly, but that didn't deter his lighter twin from trying. He was going to get those feelings out of his chest right there and then, whether Dark Pit liked or not! "Pittoo, about what I wanted to tell you—"

"I thought I said I didn't want to hear about it!"

"I'm not finished!" Pit exclaimed. "I am never going to leave you, you should know that! What I feel… It's not something I can ignore!"

Dark Pit narrowed his eyes. "Be careful what you say, Pit-stain," he warned with dark, threatening eyes. He stood straight, fists closed, and his body trembled with the rage he was trying to contain. He glanced desperately at Magnus who, despite understanding the message, did not intervene.

Pit stared right into his twin's eyes, serious as ever. It'd be too easy to cut off such an important conversation because Dark Pit was scared of himself. "Listen to me for two seconds, Pittoo—"

"Don't call me that, Pit!"

"I call you whatever I see fit! Now shut your mouth and listen to me! I am not going to leave, _ever_! I know I said I would, I know I said I'd leave you be after we solve the mystery behind the necklace, but I won't go away! I won't because…" Pit then couldn't find the words to express the way he felt, so he stood there in silence, in desperation, in fear of scaring off his dark counterpart. If he told him how he really, deeply felt, would he run away? Yes, he knew he would. Anybody would, mostly people who were afraid of affection. Fear got the better of him, and Pit looked down, tears streaking down his face.

Dark Pit waited for him to speak up, but facing a lack of reactivity and, above all, answers, he turned away and shook his head. "See, you don't even know yourself. You don't know why you won't leave."

"I'm scared of telling you," Pit admitted, eyes locked on the grass he was watching. A slight breeze ran through the leaves of the trees, filling in the blank that had crept between the two angels. After a moment, the light angel looked at his glowing necklace—their only source of light since they turned their backs to the fire pit—and took it in his hands. He unlocked the chain and put the stone in his palm, wrapping his fingers around it. The slight blue shine was visible through the gaps between his fingers. "If I tell you, I know it'll be the end of us."

"Oh, and how so, Mr. I-can-read-the-future?" Dark Pit teased, and it was pretty obvious that he was pissed off.

"You'll push me away… You'll do everything in your power to repel me…"

"Perhaps, but isn't it better to be honest?" Dark Pit asked rhetorically, then he snarled and shut his eyes to collect his thoughts on the subject. "And I had thought I could always be honest with you… If you're not willing to act the same with me, it's really not worth it."

"Pittoo—"

"Maybe it's better if you get locked back in Palutena's palace."

Pit growled and pulled Dark Pit by his tunic, staring right into his eyes. There was such anger, such madness in his sapphire orbs that even the dark angel felt intimidated. "Take that back!" he demanded, his voice deep and insistent. "I'm staying right where I stand, I won't ever get locked up again!"

"You're leaving right now, Pit."

"Hey, you two—"

"Make me leave, _Dark Pit_ ," Pit challenged his twin, with a sharp look on his face.

Dark Pit glared back at him, and pushed Pit away from him despite the grip he had on his tunic. The light angel stepped back, surprised, and lowered his head. The stone he held in his hand slowly stopped glowing completely, and Pit gasped at the sight. What had happened to it? Why did it stop? It was just a regular stone resting in his palm. Pit opened his hand, watched in horror as the stone was completely off, and he glanced back at Dark Pit. The dark angel frowned and wanted to approach him in order to check on the stone, to see if it had been cracked on the side or something, but Pit didn't allow him to touch his precious jewel that had lost its magical properties. "Stay away… Please, don't make me hurt you…"

"Like you could," Dark Pit snorted, then he grabbed Pit by the arm and pulled him up to him.

But that was forgetting Magnus, who had stood up and stepped between them. Separating them before they ended up fighting was the best option. "Come on now, you two. I'm sure this is all a huge misunderstanding."

"No, Magnus. He took his decision," Pit said, not looking back at Dark Pit. "I'm leaving. Since this stopped working, I don't need to waste my time on the Overworld."

Dark Pit scoffed, trying not to think about the harm that those words had done to his poor heart. Instead of letting tears pour down his face, even though they strongly pushed at the back of his red eyes, he crossed his arms against his chest and snapped at Pit: "Finally, you understood _something_!"

"Angel face, don't be like this," Magnus tried to calm Pit down, to reason with him despite Dark Pit's attitude—because he knew it was just a shield to mask his true emotions—but the angel of light just shook head in response.

"I'm sorry, Magnus. I can't stand this." With that said, Pit dropped the tiny, empty stone to the ground and ran off to the river. Dark Pit couldn't hold him back, even though he had deeply wanted to. Seconds later, a large beam of light manifested at the river's edge, and Pit was off to Skyworld, leaving behind his twin and Magnus.

* * *

 _To be continued…_

* * *

 **Updated: 02/11/2019**


	8. Chapter 7: Bitter cold

_**Hello everyone! Hope you're all doing great! Well, I was wondering about several things during the writing of this chapter—but I've taken a decision. I thought that you guys would probably like to read about Palutena's party, but the main focus is still Pittoo and Pitty Pat, so I won't bother dedicating a chapter to it. You'll see what I'm talking about!**_

 _ **Thank you to the person who left a comment, it really warms my heart that you like this story so far! I hope everyone else does as well!**_

 _ **Well, good reading!**_

 _ **Yours truly, Circle of J.**_

* * *

 **Disclaimer: ****I do not own the characters from the Kid Icarus series. The deities mentioned are taken from Greek Mythology, remastered the way I imagine them. What I own, on the other hand, is the plot.**

* * *

 **Kid Icarus: Heirs of the Light**

* * *

 _Chapter 7: Bitter cold_

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"I can't believe he's back!"

Palutena stormed out of her castle when she saw that her warping tunnel had brought something along. As soon as she walked out, surrounded by a pair of Centurions that always made sure she was under protection, she met _his_ eyes. _He_ was standing in the garden, in midst of the multiple white picotees and peonies that she thoroughly took daily care of, and her heart felt about to burst. The Goddess of Light had dreamt of that moment for nights along: that moment when she'd see her captain again, when she'd be able to take him in her arms and never let him leave again—because no, she wouldn't. But this time, she wouldn't lock him up in his room… She felt awfully guilty about it, even though in the end she had achieved her primary goal in doing so. It was just unfortunate that Pit seemed to… hate her for that. She had just wished to trigger something within him. Successfully so, but to what price?

"Pit," Palutena murmured, desperately trying to suppress her excitement. Then she stepped forward, hoping not to scare off her cautious angel, until she finally gave in to the growing emotions in her body. "Pit, you're back, that's really you!"

"Uhh… y-yeah, me… That's… right…" He frowned. _Who else could it be?_ he asked himself, confused.

Palutena simply smiled and nodded before she rushed towards him and pulled him in her arms. She found herself lifting him from the ground, since she was way taller than him. Pit yelped and wished to draw back, but soon enough he hugged his Goddess back, overwhelmed with happiness. He was back home, to his home, to where he belonged. Now of course he acted more distant, of course he was going to be wary of her every move. After the last talks that they shared... But he was still delighted to be back to her side. It had been so long, and breathing Skyworld's fresh air made him feel brand new. However, now was not the time to focus on it. His back was seriously about to snap in half with all the pressure she applied on it to keep the angel off the ground. Pit cleared his throat, coughed at his action, and whispered, half-strangled: "Lady Palutena, you're… kinda crushing me right now…"

"Oh, I'm sorry!" she immediately apologized, putting him back in the cold, watery grass and crushed flowers beneath his feet. He felt relieved and exhaled with ease. Palutena smiled and took one of his hands in hers to draw his attention. "We need to celebrate your return."

"Lady Palutena, you really don't have to," Pit reacted, shaking his head, then he looked down at his feet and gulped. "Look, I… I feel like doing this right now. I'm so, so so sorry, I wish I never—"

"Shhh, Pit… Don't start this right now."

"L-Lady Palutena—I wish—If only I didn't leave. I hope you're not disappointed in m—"

"No, Pit, quite the opposite, but let's delay that conversation," Palutena interrupted him, a finger on his lips so that he didn't insist.

Pit looked down at the grass, at the flowers that were whiter than his tunic—because he'd spend quite a lot of time walking around the forest and fighting off monsters of all horizons, so his clothes ought to be tainted with blood, dirt and grass. Pit eventually sighed. He hated to admit it, but Dark Pit's bad temper had defeated him. In trying to keep him close, he had managed to push him away. While he faintly ruffled his own hair, lost in his thoughts, he remembered one specific talk that he had with his twin.

Dark Pit had told him something a lot similar to: 'Every time I really want something, I either break it or repel it. It's a curse I've become used to with time.' Pit shut his eyes and a silent tear fell down his cheek when he thought about the memories they had shared and created together, for he cherished them more than anything. But after all this time, Dark Pit had done it: he had demonstrated what he had claimed. He had wanted Pit to stay so badly that he had found a way to hurt him without realizing it. When he thought about it, Dark Pit would scoff at him if he had been there. Oh, yes, he'd laugh and say, with his usual attitude: 'Told you so, Pit-stain.'—or something like that, for sure!

Pit cringed at the thought, almost able to imagine the dark angel standing before him, with a glowing purple stone around the neck. He could picture him staring straight into his counterpart's lighter eyes and smirk, hand on his right hip. He'd have that sharp, clever look of his', and eventually he'd blink and roll his eyes. Though he was pretty much thrilled by the illusion, the light angel focused on that stone his clone would be wearing, and he had a thought for it. Despite the fact that it had one linked them, he'd left it behind in this dark forest—he would never find it again, even if he looked for it. Somehow he felt like he made a mistake to drop it amongst the grass, between thousands of other rocks that now sort of looked similar to it. He had no clue why it mattered to him anymore; after all, that thing had lost its magic.

"Pit? What's… happening to you? Or should I say, what's happened?" Palutena knew that he was preoccupied—mainly because he was deadly silent—and furrowed her brows in concern. "You're usually much more talkative and less… dark…"

Pit shook his head to come back to reality, and eventually he frowned at her comment. _Dark?_ he asked himself, however not a single explanation would come to his mind as to why she'd say that. So instead of standing there in silence, torturing himself with his very own thoughts, he looked up at her and furrowed his eyebrows even more. "What do you mean, 'dark'? I'm wearing the same tunic—Wait! Did I tan?" he asked, excited at the idea, but Palutena shook her head.

Here was the Pit she knew and loved—No, what was she saying? The Pit _all_ knew and loved, of course! The Goddess of Light lightly giggled when she saw how puzzled he looked and expanded on what she had meant to say: "Not like that! More like, your attitude: you've never been so silent."

"Oh! So _that_ 's what you meant!" Pit realized, slightly embarrassed, yet a sparkle of wisdom lit his blue eyes. That was, before it completely died out when his thoughts drifted back to what he had been thinking. How could he put his deepest, darkest worries out there the simplest way possible? To be fair, he… really had no will to explain what he had been thinking about, since it was private. Even though Palutena was… private too—Well, anyways, he didn't want to, not right now. Plus, he still didn't really forgive her for what she had done… Unfortunately, the lesser he talked to her, the better he'd feel… The light angel looked off, biting his lower lip while he thought of the most cliche thing to say, then an idea came to him.

Of course, since he hated to lie—mainly because he sucked at it—he would play it off like it was nothing. He had… limited options—Dark Pit would even say: 'a limited brain too', however they didn't quite agree on that. Nonetheless, Pit had learnt to live with them in his long life! He could handle the situation just fine. _Watch me_ , he thought to himself, before a mask of confidence crept on his face. He smiled and waved his hand, as if to tell Palutena she had no reason to worry. "Sorry about that, Lady Palutena! I was thinking of everything I've went through just to get back here in Skyworld!"

Wonderfully delivered. Simple, efficient, and extremely vague. Utterly perfect for the situation at hand! And hopefully, she'd drop the subject and they'd be able to move on to something else. Or so he'd have thought…

"It must have been awful for you, my poor little Pit... Being so far away from home, stuck with a person who hates on you all day long… I told you not to go, didn't I? Yet you ran away…" Palutena sighed, looking down since she felt strong pity for her captain—who had been lost for around three weeks, far away from his homeland and with no possibility of joining his Goddess. Such a tragedy… Or, _was it_?

Pit wondered if the tragedy wasn't in fact… him coming back to Skyworld, for it meant one thing that got him to grit his teeth: he had failed to fulfill his quest. Indeed, he didn't find the meaning, nor the origin of his gifted stone. He had been _that_ close to it all… He also hadn't discovered the real nature of his feelings towards Dark Pit. Somehow, he couldn't put his finger on it, despite trying to reach within himself for his heart to say it. He… had failed miserably at everything he attempted to do. And yet, he was back to Skyworld, next to Palutena, his feet buried under dozens of crushed white picotees.

Now _that_ was perhaps the most tragic in context.

Pit sighed and focused on his stomachache, which had arisen immediately after he had set a foot in the grass of the gardens and had been growing in intensity ever since. He had to admit that something felt awfully wrong about this whole situation. His gut never lied to him: his mission was still on the Overworld, his heart belonged with Dark Pit… for whatever use they may find. Pit needed—no, he craved his twin's company! _Quit lying to yourself, Pit_ , he thought to himself, feeling his heart pounding in his chest. Yes, he longed for Dark Pit's words, for his roughless character, for his snaps, for his anger issues, for his… just for him, as a whole being. Pit couldn't choose what it was that he preferred in Dark Pit: he wanted to claim him entirely. It was all or nothing to him.

Pit shook his head and looked back at Palutena when the Goddess snapped her fingers at his face. An embarrassed smile distorted his lips. "You know, it really wasn't that bad compared to being locked up in my room," he said, quite accusative, before he decided to continue: "I know it's hard to conceive, but Pittoo is amazing company!"

"Even when he's insulting you constantly and beating you up because you say 'no' to his requests?"

The angel rolled eyes and crossed arms against his chest defiantly. "Still better than being ignored when I bang at my own door, don't you think?"

Palutena looked down, ashamed of her actions, and did not reply. Instead, she moved on with the conversation, since she couldn't find the right words to apologize properly, and invited Pit to take a walk to the hot springs, which he admitted he definitely looked forward to. The love of his life… He was going to meet them again, his precious, gorgeous hot springs… There was nothing he'd love more than them in his entire existence—aside from Dark Pit, of course! Pit blushed at the thought, hiding his face with his hand so that Palutena couldn't see the flash of red on his cheeks. He walked alongside his Goddess while she talked about what happened in Skyworld lately. He had to say that… his focus was on something else.

Maybe if he told her about the situation—about his feelings, more so, she could talk some sense into him. If he explained what had happened, if he clarified the way he felt with the few, little words he could find to picture it, maybe she'd be able to guide him and give him the next steps to follow—in order, of course, not to screw it up once again. At this point, anything was worth trying.

"So I sent Phosphora, who fortunately agreed to lend me a hand, in order to protect the city. Now of course, Thanatos was tough—"

"Thanatos?" Pit asked, incredulous, since he'd just gotten into the conversation.

Palutena frowned and nodded, then she asked, slightly irritated: "Yes, Pit. Did you listen to anything I said?"

"Uhhhh… No? B-Bad answer?" The angel of light rubbed the back of his head and laughed nervously when he met his Goddess' glare on him. "Probably a very, very bad answer…" Choosing that it was probably a better option to keep quiet about the subject and quickly move on, he looked down at his feet and kept silent for the rest of their walk. The Goddess of Light and her captain soon reached the hot springs—which were displayed like a regular pool in a camping: lots of different depths and temperatures, in different baths scattered across an entire temple dedicated to them.

The place was filled with steam, it was almost impossible to see where Pit was heading. For a moment, he was fortunate that he knew the directions ever since he was a young angel! Walking in such a foggy environment would have been a nightmare. Palutena followed him and decided to sit down in the first pool that she had found. Pit didn't say anything—despite the fact that he wanted to complain: that bath was too cold!—and silently settled down, still wearing his trusty tunic. He thought that, maybe, dipping it in a hot spring would work its wonders and take out the few stains it bore. Perhaps he was a little too optimistic.

The Goddess sighed in relief when she felt the healing, soothing effects of the water on her skin. Of course, she'd left her dress behind, so that her body would be completely defenseless and at the mercy of the magical water. Good decision, she had to say. Nothing more relaxing. She briefly opened her eyes and seemed to notice strange scars on Pit's shoulders, and a little bit of maroon red on his tunic, at the very top of the white fabric. She frowned and asked: "Results of a fight, I presume?"

Pit furrowed his brows, having no idea what she was talking about, until he suddenly realized that she looked at his shoulders. He scratched the back of his head and hissed at the memory. He could feel his entire body shaking at the thought of Dark Pit attacking him again, those nails dipped in his flesh. "Let's say more of an altercation…" he whispered under his breath, hoping she'd not hear.

Palutena just stared at him—he was unable to tell if she had caught a word of what he had said—and pointed to the golden water they bathed in. "Maybe you should put some water on those. They'd probably disappear, they don't seem to be too deep." Pit did what she suggested and was impressed by the rapidity at which the scars had vanished. This water really was magical. The Goddess narrowed her eyes at him, and a sharp expression stuck to her face. He knew she was about to be accusative, and he also knew exactly who she'd blame—rightfully this time, he had to say. "Tell me Pit, was it Pittoo?"

"Yes," Pit admitted, then he looked down at his tunic and tried to wipe off the dry blood with hot spring water. "We had a bit of a quarrel."

"And that led him to harm you, apparently. That's how trustworthy he is, right?"

"Oh! Because you're much better, keeping me on lock down!" Pit groaned, then he kept his bitterness for himself and focused on the subject at hand. "Anyways, I gotta go left on that one," he said, and, seeing that she was confused as to what he meant, he expanded: "Lady Palutena, he didn't intend to, I know him. It's just that… the necklace makes us act weird." After he'd said that and kept silent for a second so that his words sank in his Goddess' head, the light angel finally looked up in defeat since the small stain didn't disappear from his clothes—what a shame, he'd have to grab a new tunic—then he stared right into Palutena's green, twinkling eyes. "It makes us feel out of control. I become slow and silent, and he becomes violent and super aggro…"

"Two opposite effects for the same stone," Palutena pointed out, not convinced at all. She raised an eyebrow at her angel. "Isn't that a _little_ overpowered?"

"You're telling me, you're a Goddess!"

Palutena laughed frantically, despite the peek of anger that still lingered in her heart. She really hated talking about Dark Pit, it always got her on her nerves. "I mean—for a stone, Pit! Even if Aphrodite supposedly created it, it seems to hold a great deal of magical abilities."

"Well, fair point." Pit could only agree, for he'd witnessed the stone's breathtaking magic with his own two eyes. Indeed, it was a really impressive jewel, even filled with emotions and… a conscience, according to Dark Pit's experience at hearing its 'voice' talk to him. There was something that they all didn't know about the jewel… Otherwise, it was impossible for it to be so powerful. It was just thought to be a link between two people who didn't realize they loved each other... How could it hold such devastating effects on their mood and character? When Pit gave it a thought, he seemed to realize how frightened Underworld forces were when he wore the necklace around them… As if the thing, on its own account, could wipe them out in one instant. However he didn't focus on it, thinking it could all be his imagination working up for him.

Palutena cleared her throat and rubbed her eyes with her hands. "Well, that's all a mystery for another day," she said.

"How did you—" Pit looked up, squinting his eyes suspiciously, thinking that she'd read his thoughts. He grabbed his laurel crown and hesitated to put it aside, behind him. Palutena laughed out loud when she saw his reaction and reassured him: it really was all a joke, she couldn't read his mind through his laurel crown. However, the angel didn't seem convinced and stared right back at her, putting his precious golden crown on the cold tiles with a little smile on the lips. The Goddess chuckled at that. Pit then took advantage of the situation, of the good atmosphere, to open up a whole new subject that he wanted to talk about—still related to Dark Pit though, even though he knew how much his Goddess hated to talk about him. "Lady Palutena, I'm choosing this moment to tell you something that is really important to me!" he started, and Palutena briefly looked up at him before resting her head on the edge of the bath. She closed her eyes, still listening but also enjoying her spa time. "But first, I'd like to know how you knew I would escape, because I know you did."

"You're one curious angel," Palutena answered, however she complied and said: "Actually, it was my plan that you escaped. I was counting on it."

"You were? Why?" he asked, narrowing his eyes and folding his arms.

There was the explanation that she dreaded: telling him the reason behind her actions. Of course she could tell him bluntly, but she didn't want him to completely lock down after that, because he would. If he knew that she'd been… sort of directing him in a specific direction, he would be even angrier towards her. Perhaps he'd even think that she was only doing this for her own interests, and she would hate for him to.

Palutena quietly opened her eyes and glanced at her dear little Pit, still not fully realizing that he was real yet. If she closed her eyes, would he vanish? Would she wake up in bed, was it all a dream? Nothing was less certain, thus she'd refrain from blinking too often. She left those thoughts aside to focus on how to word things. She had to be cautious… One wrong move, and she was sure never to see him again. "You know, Pit… I've been observing you. No, that sounded wrong. I mean, I've been looking at your relationship with Pittoo, and I figured that… there were things you two didn't understand. Namely, your feelings towards one another. So I thought that… if I refused to send you to save Pittoo and locked you up somehow, you'd take the decision to do it anyway. And I hoped that this would help you realize how much _more_ you care about him than what you seem to think. Did that sound right, or do you hate me?"

Pit chuckled nervously at the question and ruffled his hair, making it even messier than it already was naturally. Suddenly, it was as if the water was burning his skin: all that he wanted to do was run off to his room and lock himself up. But… maybe that'd be a bad idea. He didn't have food in his room, and he had no will to be locked up again. He had learnt his lesson. The angel looked back at Palutena, his eyes slightly more serious than they had been before. "So that's why you did this… May I ask, the Underworld forces…?"

"Were real, at least for the most part," Palutena completed his sentence, hoping that would not make him mad.

Pit only nodded in acknowledgment, suddenly very silent and focused on the water they bathed in. She couldn't tell if he was pissed off, she couldn't tell if he was sad; his blue eyes looked empty of any emotion. He was probably thinking back at all he had been through… Palutena bit her lower lip, feeling all the more guilty. She knew it was the only way to make them both realize what was happening, and she knew she couldn't delay it either… "That was why you were talking with Medusa the other night, right Lady Palutena?" Pit's voice arose, catching her attention. "You were planning this with her. You were asking for her troops."

"Yes, that's right… Pit, do you hate me?"

"No, but I hate _this_."

The Goddess of Light looked off, only for her angel's hand to land on her shoulder. He was now much closer to her, which she admitted to like, since she wanted proximity with him. He was her little captain, her champion, she wanted to hold him close to her heart and never let go. Palutena looked into his blue eyes, which had started glimmering, and pecked him on the forehead. She trailed her hand up to Pit's cheek and lightly caressed it, enjoying the moment that they were sharing. There wasn't anything romantic in it, just sincere mother-and-son affection. The angel drew back after a moment and sat on his side of the hot spring, rummaging through his thoughts when he looked at Palutena once more. This time, he seemed relaxed. "I think we should tell Pittoo what that was all about, he deserves to know."

"I'll let you do that, Pit."

"No, I really think _you_ should do that," Pit countered, rubbing his shoulder bones with the glowing water to soothe the tension in his back. "He'd really feel better if _you_ told him, Lady Palutena."

"Are you giving me orders?"

"N-No!"

"It's alright, Pit, I was joking!" Palutena smiled, then she nodded, slightly absent-minded. "Though, I must admit that you have a good point. I'll see if I can get him to come over in Skyworld to explain the situation."

Pit nodded and immediately tried to change the subject of their conversation, so that they didn't argue once more. But what could he say? He still felt angry at her, to some extent, so making small talk—or in this case, attempting to—would be pointless, if anything. Although… he couldn't really think of anything else, so he'd give it a try. "You know, I didn't realize it at first, but… when I was away, I had a hard time getting up in the morning."

Palutena glanced at him. "Oh, why's that?"

"You're the only person I do it for, Lady Palutena," Pit answered and his cheeks turned red.

Palutena laughed and raised her head to look right into his eyes again. He was so adorable, it was such a sweet thing to say. That was one of the reasons why she had missed him so badly: his undying compliments warmed her poor, isolated heart. "Aww, you're so cute, Pit."

"Come on, you're gonna make me blush… I swear it's all true, Lady Palutena! My body felt so weak… That's why I'm still happy to be here," her captain certified, flapping his wings, then he sat up and ran his hand over the hot, steamy water. A smile appeared on his lips as he thought of what to tell her, since there were so many things she needed to know. He was ecstatic at the perspective of talking about Dark Pit and his newfound feelings for the dark angel with Palutena, now that he knew she was aware of them and had wanted to trigger them. He had never wanted to mention it, neither to demonstrate anything since, at that time, Dark Pit wasn't very receptive. But now, he believed that it was more than time to say things out loud and bear the weight of his choices on his shoulders, like an adult. A responsible adult, that was.

Pit looked at Palutena, who had kept silent and appreciated the small amount of free time she had in the company of her favorite angel, and cleared his throat. She cocked an eyebrow, curious, and he finally found the strength to start the conversation. "I guess your efforts ended up paying off."

Palutena smiled mischievously when she asked, "My efforts to get you to run away?"

Pit grinned but he still shook his head, collecting his thoughts on the subject. What did he expect? Of course she was going to joke around… However, he shouldn't lose his focus and, most of all, his will to tell her everything. If he was so easily disheartened, he'd never get to experience anything with Dark Pit; revealing his feelings to Palutena sure was a huge step, but it was nothing compared to the courage he'd need to say it to Dark Pit's face. After a brief moment of silence during which he collected himself, Pit sighed and his eyes drifted to Palutena's. "No, your efforts for me and Pittoo."

"You and Pittoo? So what did you find out?" Palutena inquired, all of a sudden more interested and curious about the matter. A lot of things seemed to have happened in just three weeks of time, she never would've thought things to be that easy! "Come on, you can tell me, Pit! After all, I planned this to begin with and I'd love to hear the results."

The angel tried to smile. "Well, I must… say that I'm still… unsure," he admitted, then he lowered his head and planted his sapphire orbs in the golden water he was bathing in. Indeed, he wouldn't want to claim something that was not certain—not to Palutena. He ought to stay true to her, no matter the circumstances. He scratched his head, messing his hair up, and thought about what else the crazy heartbeats he felt when he stood next to Dark Pit could mean. Obviously, he couldn't find any other explanation, for there only seemed to be one for this common phenomenon: Love. "Maybe I do know, but I wouldn't want to be mistaken."

"Hypotheses are welcome," Palutena told him, so that he could finally spit out whatever he felt like telling her.

Pit laughed nervously and briefly looked away before he walked into the lion's den and said: "I'm in love with him, I've been for a long time—I think, I don't know for sure…" he confessed, fidgeting with his hands to release the stress he felt deeply inside of him, crippling him like a disease. He glanced at Palutena, who stared at him, motionless, and quickly added: "Please don't smite me…"

"Pit!" she laughed at that, with a true smile on her lips. "Really?"

The angel shrugged one shoulder and chuckled softly, in a low voice so that he didn't bring all the attention towards him. She felt just how uneasy, how scared he really was and rolled eyes. Goddess Palutena did not say anything, nor did she look away from her dear angel. Somehow, she was still surprised, even though it was what she had wanted. Those two had always been close to one another, complementary; it was impossible to avoid such ends. However, she did not worry about them; she knew they could go the distance—or simply wreck each other beyond repair.

The angels she knew did everything to the fullest; always pushing their goals and actions to the extreme, always doing absolutely everything and anything to meet their expectations and giving all they had or nothing at all to succeed. She knew it'd be the same way if they ever tried to get somewhere together: it would either be luminous or chaotic. And to be fair, she didn't think she had the right to interfere—only Aphrodite could do something about it, since her angelic sidekick—Eros—had gone missing for nearly two hundred years…

Palutena just thought that Pit didn't know exactly what he was getting into. Of course, she could give him advice, tell him to be careful and to, maybe, forget the idea altogether—although she had longed for it. However, she wouldn't: they both deserved a chance… Plus, she had worked so hard to achieve her goal! It would all be wasted if she gave it up… After what she had done to Dark Pit, how badly she damaged his pride and their recently established friendship, she refused to backstab him again. She'd let Pit take it into his own hands and be the big boy he was starting to become! Soon he'd be an adult and he needed to know how to deal with these feelings.

"Lady… Pa…lu…tena?" The angel looked straight into her eyes for several seconds, wondering why she'd been so silent and perhaps also if she was going to punish him roughly, and Palutena smiled to reassure him. Her poor little Pit was shaking from head to toe, and he had bitten his lower lip so hard that he managed to make himself bleed.

"Pit, first things first: I won't smite you, so you can calm down," Palutena started off, and Pit exhaled in deep relief.

He put a hand over his chest and breathed in heavily. "Thank the Gods."

Then Palutena added, much to his dismay: "Now, I think you should let _Pittoo_ know about what you feel!"

His heart completely stopped beating for a moment and he gasped, incredulous. Had she just said what she had said? Then his stomach heaved him as he replied in a shout: "I have tried, Lady Palutena… But I don't have what it takes."

"Now that's a load of baloney, and you know that! Pit, you know he's dying for it! Step up for yourself sometimes!"

The angel looked down, uncertain and, mostly, frightened. He held onto his laurel crown as if his life depended on it, trying his best not to meet Palutena's glistening green eyes. "B-But he… He will hate me even more than he already does…"

"Pittoo would never, ever hate you! I know that for a fact! You're worse than a doormat, Pit! Come on, show your strength of character! You're old enough to handle this!"

Pit didn't look convinced and Palutena groaned. The young angel glanced at her with tearful, horrified sapphire eyes. "I'm only 157 years old…"

"Wow, Pit! That's _very_ young, now isn't it?" Using sarcasm was probably a bad idea, yet Palutena had felt like trying it. Pit would clearly understand the message if she accentued every word right, correct?

Mistake on her part. "Uhm… Yes, that's… what I meant to say?"

Palutena shook her head in disbelief. How could he be so easily deceived by words? Even when she had made sure he'd understand it was sarcastic! Sometimes, she'd never understand just how simple-minded her precious angel could be… "I was kidding, Pit. You're old enough. Look at all the things you've been through in your existence—there ought to be worse than this!"

"I don't… know…"

"Pit, in Zeus' name, I'm not asking you to have kids! Just to declare your burning love for Pittoo!"

"But… Lady Palutena," Pit began, as he ran his hands through his hair to hide his nervousness. "Pittoo is not… the easiest person to tell those things to… I-It's not that easy, I'm kind of scared…"

"Then don't be, and it'll be easy! I completely set you up, you just have to go for it!" the Goddess replied, lying down to get the most out of the warm water she bathed in. A sigh of ease escaped her lips and Pit giggled nervously, still very much taken aback by what she had said.

Was she aware of who Dark Pit was? She had to know that he rejected any feelings towards him—he was foreign to affection and love! How would he handle the news, you ask? Well, Pit had a pretty clear idea of how it would turn out: Dark Pit would stare at him, laugh, and eventually cry before tearing his twin to pieces using his Silver Bow. Then, he'd take the pieces to the river and throw them for the crocodiles to eat, so that nobody ever suspected anything! For the bones, he… he'd just bury them in his backyard, or even just hide them under his bed, where he'd be sure nobody would ever stumble upon them! And boom, just like that, Pit would disappear from existence! Thinking about what he believed was a rather accurate depiction of the scene sent shivers down his spine, despite the fact that he was sitting in boiling water.

But if he put all of that aside, Pit still felt somewhat happier than he'd been those last few weeks. In the end, he had missed spending all his time with his Goddess, despite the locking up incident. He remembered when he was still a young angel, she would take a day off to go visit the Overworld with him, tell him about his mission as a servant of the Light, and he'd listen to every single word she'd say. There wasn't a week where this wouldn't happen at least once.

The Goddess of Light would tell him stories belonging to the human world, would read him books with heroes and princesses and dragons, and then she'd also teach him how to fight. Between parades, counterattacks, fakes and dodges, she would train him up for hours along, even at dawn, to make him the best warrior there ever was. When Pit thought about it, he hadn't really asked for anything, but at the time she needed a hero; the Centurions were not… efficient without a leader—a prompt, daring leader with a strong sense of justice. However, one thing she hadn't achieved was making him more mature, since Palutena herself acted like a teenager at times.

Pit dipped his hand in the water and stared at it while he kept thinking, lost in his memories of another time. He could recall the first time he had put his hand in this water… He had a small hand, very small, and it was covered with cuts and bruises. It was after one of their training sessions… Such good times, yet all so far away into the past. Unreachable, unforgettable still.

"Come on Pit, we have a party to set up!" Drawing his attention, Palutena stood back up, stepped out of the hot spring, and grabbed the dress that she'd left on the ground because she couldn't be bothered to hang it. "And to quickly go back on the subject: I know Pittoo seems intimidating, but I also know that he softens up when he's with you. Food for thought, am I right?"

"Uhhh… Lady Palutena, I don't think thoughts need food… Oh! What if they do? That's why I lose track of my thoughts all the time—they starved!" Pit panicked, his eyes widened, and Palutena just laughed and started to walk off.

He was always so fun to hang out with.

Pit quickly followed her, still scared over the thought that his thoughts themselves could be dying because he didn't feed them. His heart raced in his chest, and he felt just about to faint. What a monster he was…

Palutena tied her necklace, which was nothing more than a golden collar attached to three chains, around her neck. She then turned and told Pit that it was quite cold outside when she darted a look at his clothes. The angel sighed when he himself noticed that he'd have to wear a soaked tunic for the rest of the day, facing freezing cold wind… Those were things he had forgotten during his journey on the Overworld, and that he sincerely hadn't missed. He gritted his teeth. Then, he attempted to focus on the conversation they'd had before he wandered off in his own thoughts, walking right next to his precious Goddess who had just put on her green shoes. "Lady Palutena, do you think my thoughts are dying?"

"Pit, as you said it yourself: thoughts don't need food. Now what about that party? Are you excited?"

The angel of light shrugged and looked back at the hot spring with a little nostalgia in his blue eyes. _It'll be like a regular birthday party_ , he thought to himself. _It'll be fun, but it'll be weird to be there without Pittoo._ Usually, he invited Dark Pit to every party that Palutena organized. The dark angel would always claim that he had things to do, only to come in the end and say that he found the time to be there anyways. Sometimes, Pit had wondered if he just didn't want to come but forced himself to in order to see his twin… Highly possible, however he didn't want to think about it at the moment. Instead, Pit really focused on what he was looking at for once: the hot spring. Oh, he'd miss it, for the time being—since Palutena assured him that they'd come back sometime. But despite what she had said, Pit knew that, now that he was back to Skyworld, he'd have hundreds of things to take care of in the next few days, and rare would be the occasions he'd get to come back to the hot springs for a bath… His wings fluttered down when he told himself that the cold water of his private shower would do until then.

Before he came closer to the door leading outside, he whispered under his breath: "I love you, hot spring."

"Brace yourself, Pit." Palutena opened the door to the gardens, and Pit felt the freezing cold breeze on his soaked clothes and hissed. He stepped back, hid from the wind, much to the Goddess' amusement. He yelped and fought back when she grabbed him by the arm, pulling him outside with her. She claimed that they needed to head back to the castle in order to take care of this party she wanted to throw the same day, and Pit sighed. She always had him wherever she wanted him, and knew that very well. He could call that abusing her power, but he also knew it'd had close to no effect and that Palutena would only laugh at him for using big words like these.

So, instead of focusing on that, he asked his Goddess about the recent events. She told him about the increasing threats of greedy Gods—she named Poseidon and Hermes—who planned on attacking the Overworld. She mentioned several cities, including that Dark Pit and Magnus lived in. Pit turned white, he felt suddenly tensed and stared at Palutena in disbelief. Some God was planning an attack on their city? And Palutena didn't react, didn't step in to say no?

Pit frowned and looked away. "Now we can't let them do that!" he cried out, determined, as he clenched his fists. "Lady Palutena, we alone can do something to stop them! You are the Goddess protecting humans!"

"And it is not my role to meddle with the other Gods' affairs," she said blankly.

Pit sighed and groaned in anger. "You did it for Hades and Viridi!" he yelled at her, then he slid his arm out of Palutena's hand. It forced her to stop in her tracks and turn around to look at him. The angel gritted his teeth but took a deep breath to calm himself down—that was a method that Dark Pit had taught him during his stay on the Overworld. He called that self control, Pit called it a ticking bomb. "You don't want to do it because there's Pittoo involved, and you wish he will die!" he accused her.

The Goddess gasped, hurt to hear such words, and shook her head. "How could you think that of me?" she asked in a low voice, heartbroken. "After all I've done for him, and for you, how could you say that?"

"I know you don't like him!"

"And you think I'd let him—along with hundreds of humans—die because of that?" she asked him.

Pit blinked and looked to the side, sighing. No, Palutena would never do that… Why did he become so defensive? What had happened to him? He'd never reacted in such a way before… The necklace must have really changed his personality… Pit gulped and hoped the changes wouldn't be permanent. "Right… I'm sorry, Lady Palutena. I didn't think."

Palutena smiled softly and put a hand on Pit's shoulder to reassure him. "Ease your mind. It's nothing. If anything, I should've known you'd react that way: you're always so preoccupied with Pittoo's safety," she said, in a soothing, calm voice that she used to take whenever she read him stories as a young angel. Then she glanced over to the castle and thought about something. "How about we head back now? I'll tell you everything about the recent attacks and the situation once we're there."

"Gotcha."

* * *

 _To be continued…_

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 **Updated: 02/11/2019**


	9. Chapter 8: Old friends

_**Hello everyone! Hope you're all doing great! I managed to get two chapters done in the last few days, so I upload this one! It's probably one of my favorite chapters so far. I'm having fun writing this story, I feel really into it, and I hope you are too! Next chapter, I will introduce an important element in the story, that will be useful to our angels until the very end! Stay tuned for that!**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

 _ **Yours truly, Circle of J.**_

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 **Disclaimer: ****I do not own the characters from the Kid Icarus series. The deities mentioned are taken from Greek Mythology, remastered the way I imagine them. What I own, on the other hand, is the plot.**

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 **Kid Icarus: Heirs of the Light**

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 _Chapter 8: Old friends_

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Dark Pit shot the target with a fully charged blow from his Silver Bow, sighing. Even _that_ couldn't give him any satisfaction. Fighting usually got him in a good mood, except that this all changed when Pit left, a little over a month earlier. Magnus had certified that he'd come back, that he wouldn't let go of either of them, and had explained that this happened also during the episode of the Chaos Ring and that Pit had been there for him… But Dark Pit couldn't believe one word he said. Pit was back with his precious Palutena… _Why'd he come back?_ Part of him hoped that the lighter angel would turn back and rush to his door. On the other hand, though, he wished he would never see his face again, so that he could finally have a chance to forget it—because despite Pit's departure, his twin couldn't bring himself to loathe him, to be mad at him and, most of all, to obliterate him from his memories. Quite the opposite, much to his dismay.

Dark Pit growled under his breath, shut eyes and shot the target once more, tearing off its papery head and sending it flying across his courtyard. The dark angel gritted his teeth, walked up to it, and noticed that it was too badly damaged to be repaired. "Too fucking bad!" he screamed, to express his anger that he had a hard time repressing, and he threw the head in the garbage can.

Whatever, he'd find something else to train with. Mostly, to calm his nerves on.

"That's the _third_ you've broken in two days!" a voice erupted, startling him. When he recognized it, he rolled eyes and groaned, however that did not deter the Goddess. Her long, emerald hair fell down to her knees, even though she had it tied up in a strangely sophisticated ponytail. She had caught her crown in it, and now it almost looked like a fashionable hairpin. Palutena stood in his back, her staff in hand and her godly symbol glowing around her head. "Where did you take them from anyways, since you don't have any money?"

"Why'd you care?" Dark Pit replied, narrowing his eyes at her once he finally turned to look at her. "If you're here, I suppose you locked the poor idiot back in his room for eternity?"

Palutena snorted at the way he talked to her, then she took a step forward, pushing her light, white dress in the process. She wore an empire dress—long, falling flat over her body, with a defined waistline typical of those dresses: right under the breasts—and golden shoes. It seemed to Dark Pit that she was preparing herself for a party, since otherwise she wouldn't have changed her clothing to such a fancy, even _ridiculous_ attire. For a second, he wondered if she came to invite him, but shook the thought off of his mind. Heh… Funny he was still hoping for that. How weak could he be?

The Goddess of Light crossed her arms against her chest and stared right into Dark Pit's eyes, until she sighed and looked off. "Actually, no, he's free to go wherever he wants."

"Now that's surprising, you took off the leash?"

Palutena rolled eyes, shook her head, and couldn't help but smile. "He himself demanded that I come to you."

"And you listen to him since?"

"Since he came back to Skyworld with things he hadn't had time to say to you," the Goddess of Light replied, to which Dark Pit only growled.

"Tell him to jump off of Skyworld's edge, so that he quits bothering me," Dark Pit countered, then he turned his heels and walked towards his tiny house, made out of simple rocks—like most of the houses in the city anyways.

The Goddess of Light observed him as he moved back, away from a conversation he seeked to avoid, and added: "You know, I think you probably should consider what he has to say."

"And what's that?" Dark Pit immediately asked, quickly turning around to face Palutena. His eyes were dry, cold, and hard on her. She felt a large amount of hatred and bitterness coming from him, and thought about leaving him alone—since it seemed to her that he really despised her company, and also the mention of Pit. The dark angel clenched his fists after he had dropped his Silver Bow to the cold ground. "Why am I even asking?" he cursed at himself, before he kept going, barely containing his rage any longer: "I don't care what you think, and above all, I don't care what he has to say, alright? After all, he left!"

"Dark Pit, you know you didn't give him a choice."

"There's always a choice!" Dark Pit harshly replied, then he gritted his teeth. He was about to burst into tears, however he knew he couldn't let Palutena know of his weakness. Even if it meant that he had to hurt himself in the process, he would continue to act as if he loathed Pit for what he did. Thus, the dark angel snarled and shut his eyes in order to withdraw the tears that started to form in their corner. "If he's never taking one, he's a weakling, and it's best if he's away from me."

Palutena scoffed at him. "Now that's rich coming from you."

"Look, let's not make this difficult! All I want is for him— _and_ you—to leave me alone! Did I make myself clear? Get out of my sight!"

Palutena smirked and shrugged one shoulder, amused. Oh, she'd not waste her time there if he really wanted her to leave; she was going back to Skyworld without looking back! She wasn't going to beg for Dark Pit's attention; she honestly couldn't care less if he wanted to talk to her or not. She was doing this for Pit, but she'd just have to tell him the truth, that Dark Pit didn't want to hear from him anymore. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the situation would go back to how things were before Dark Pit was brought into their lives. Everyone would be delighted by that. Well, at least, she knew _she_ would be: their lives were way easier when there wasn't a dark, gloomy copy of her beloved angel to bother them. Thus, she did not reply, did not look at the dark angel as she complied and went back to Skyworld in a flash of heavenly light.

Dark Pit snarled after her departure, losing his gaze in the distance, amongst the clouds and the hundreds of birds that flew around town. He thought about what Pit could have wanted to tell him, whether or not it had been important, before he shook his head and slapped himself across the face. Why did it matter so much? Now that the angel of light had left him behind to go back to his precious Goddess' side, it really didn't mean much, whatever he had to say. If he seriously longed to talk to Dark Pit, he'd have stayed—or, if not, at least he'd have found a way to come down _himself_ and tell him right to his face. "You fool," Dark Pit sighed. "I shouldn't love you."

Without another word directed at his absent twin, the dark angel went back in his house without a glance behind, trying to forget about that crippling pain he felt in his heart. He smirked when he thought that, maybe, Pit had just been stabbed in the heart and that was why he felt that way. It'd be very satisfying, even though highly unlikely. Nonetheless, he preferred to think of that, since he did not want to realize just yet that it could be his own feelings coming into play. He was not an angel who was affected by those… was he? "Nah." He'd never felt anything for anyone in his entire existence prior to arriving in this dimension, that would not change for a stupid, marshmallow-hearted white angel. _Poor idiot…_ Dark Pit thought with a growl. Pit had left, was back to his Goddess, and now just thought about mentioning something to his twin. Dark Pit shook his head and clicked his tongue at the thought; what a plague he was… Sometimes, Dark Pit wondered why he felt so close to him.

"Come on, what's wrong with you?!" he yelled at his own thoughts, frustrated. He nearly slapped himself again and refused to think about it. Dark Pit was nothing like _Light_ Pit, he was his very own person—way stronger, way smarter, way cuter in addition. His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door, and screams from the amphitheater at the center of the city. The dark angel almost ran to the door, swung it open, and stared in fear as Magnus was standing in front of him, a huge, quite intimidating cut in his bleeding arm. He'd never seen the human wounded, and that all made his worry grow. What was happening?

"Dark angel face, we have to head to the amphitheater! Grab your bow and let's go!" Magnus hurried him, holding his gigantic sword despite his injury—which had to be crippling, considering how much blood was spewing out of it…

Before Dark Pit had any time to ask Magnus about the situation and why he needed his help, there was an audible explosion coming from the amphitheater. Dark Pit ran back to his courtyard, picked up his dirty Silver Bow, and rushed to the center of the town. As usual, he had close to no trouble decimating Underworld forces on his path: they needed no more than one perfectly aimed arrow to explode out of existence—and the dark angel was full of these; he never missed his target. Dark Pit remained focused nonetheless and headed right towards the amphitheater, from which a whole crowd of humans ran in horror.

The sky, which was blue up until then, turned blood red, and the flightless angel gritted his teeth. Magnus had followed his lead and told him to go inside, also that he'd guard the doors to make sure neither Underworld monsters nor humans could make their way in. He had gripped his sword tighter and started to swing it at enemies, whereas Dark Pit had only nodded and brutally forced open the doors of the amphitheater. "Medusa!" he screamed at the top of his lungs when he saw the Goddess, taller than a mountain, standing in front of him. She was nothing more than a projection, but he still felt the need to threaten her. After all, maybe she liked that, since she kept coming back for more. Dark Pit aimed his Silver Bow at the Goddess, whose bloodcurdling laughter only made the angel cringe. "What do you think you're doing, puny Goddess?!"

" _Puny_? Our little goth hero feels rebellious today, I like that!" Medusa laughed harder, and she leaned in to get closer to the small angel who faced her. Dark Pit groaned in annoyance, wanting to run off, but at the same time the rush of adrenaline pushed him to stand his ground. And that he did, standing proudly in the center of the wrecked amphitheater with a fully charged arrow ready to be shot at the Goddess' face if she dared get too close for comfort. Medusa let her laughter intensify again before she stood back up and looked down at Dark Pit. "You could never defeat me, Dark Pit, but we could make a perfect team."

"Don't make me laugh," he snorted, not losing his focus. "An arrow between your two eyes would do you some good."

Medusa smirked at that. "Such an aggressive little thing… Did Pit break your heart?" she asked, and though she already knew the answer—because everyone was aware of what had happened lately, with Pit's disappearance—she waited for him to say it.

Dark Pit briefly looked pissed off, before he lowered his bow and gulped down all the regrets that had been lingering in his throat for too long. However, he knew that he shouldn't let Medusa know of his weakness, else she'd take advantage of it and hurt everyone who stood on her path. She was not a trustworthy Goddess—none of the Gods deserved to be followed blindly. Dark Pit knew he should remain cautious around them. "You don't have to know about that."

"Aww, that explains it. Our hero is enamored, but the subject of his undying love flew away!"

"Will you shut your mouth?!"

Medusa chuckled and started to vanish into thin air. But right before she did, she turned her eyes to the dark angel and said, in a cheery voice: "You know, Dark Pit, I could give you a hand in destroying dear Palutena… Once she'd be done, Pit would be yours, and yours only."

Dark Pit growled; the thought alone was highly arousing, but he'd not fall right in her trap. Would he…?

"Leave, demon," he whispered under his breath, sounding a lot weaker than he'd have liked to.

"Think about my words, Dark Pit."

The angel raised his head towards her. "Wait a minute. What about that necklace? I'm sure you know something. It was Palutena's doing, wasn't it?"

Medusa frowned but her smile only grew wider at his hypothesis. She looked at him, staying right where she was, and asked: "Why would Palutena do such a thing?"

Dark Pit held onto his Silver Bow tightly without looking away from the Goddess. He collected his thoughts and finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he began explaining his thoughts. "She knows Pit is a sentimental moron, and also that he'd believe anything if it comes from an 'upper force'—namely, a God or Goddess. So she gave him that necklace so that he thought he was in love with me all along. Thus, she knew he'd try to get closer to me, and in the end, _if_ I happened to be stupid enough to love him, I'd be at her mercy. "

"That is, as you said, _if_ you fell in love with him," Medusa smirked, then she added: "Now it's visible that you _did_ , Dark Pit."

"Shut up. You have no idea what you're talking about." The angel looked down and growled in anger. He denied that he did, when it was obvious that… it was out of his control. He had fallen for the white angel, fallen higher than if he had been standing on top of a mountain and jumped from it. The fall had been long and painful, until he finally hit the ground, breaking everything he'd ever been—all at once. Dark Pit gritted his teeth at the thought; yes, Pit changed him so much that he barely knew who he was anymore… The worst probably was the fact that he had no regrets whatsoever. He even… felt like the changes were positively affecting him. Dark Pit teared up and shook his head, refusing to think about Pit one more minute. Instead, he focused on Medusa. "No matter—This doesn't matter anymore. He's not coming back anyways."

"Aww, you poor little thing!"

Dark Pit snarled but successfully prevented himself from snapping at the Goddess. It would be too obvious that the subject was sensitive if he did. "Was it Palutena, Goddess? I'm sure you know."

Medusa chuckled but never answered, fully disappearing from view. The Underworld forces withdrew, going back to their 'basement' as Pit would call it. The humans who had been hiding this whole time stormed out and gathered together, probably checking on their friends and family members. There hadn't been a lot of casualties, but like in any battle, there were still a few deaths to mourn. Dark Pit sighed, the wind blowing through his raven hair, before he turned towards Magnus with pained ruby eyes. He had no clue what was happening within him… He somehow felt the urge to accept Medusa's help. Dark Pit shut his eyes and a silent tear rolled down his cheek. He whispered under his breath, while thoughts were battling in his head: "She can give me Pit… I can have him—if I follow her… I don't have to stay with her always, just… until he's mine…"

Hearing the dark angel talking to himself, Magnus walked up to him and seemed reassured when he realized that his angel's friend had not been wounded. He winced at the pain that came from his own arm, and touched the bleeding flesh. He'd have to get medical assistance… Calling upon Palutena's help would be, this time around, useless. "Hey, buddy, you're alright?" he asked Dark Pit, whom he caught staring blankly into the distance.

He was way too serious. Not a good sign in his book. The angel spun around to look at him and let his feelings take over him. "I'm fine, obviously!" he snapped. Then Dark Pit stepped back to where he'd been standing when he was facing Medusa, and his eyes darted towards the open sky. It was back to its original blue color, and this warmed his heart despite what he'd say. It reminded him of his cheerful, sweet little angel… Dark Pit felt his heart ache as he pictured his lighter version standing in front of him, bouncing in place like he often did when he was overwhelmed with happiness. As he scared off the illusion with a groan, the dark angel clenched his left fist and held his Silver Bow with the other hand, then looked down in desperation. "Magnus, you should seek help for your arm. I'll come see you very soon, there's something I need to take care of."

"Dark angel face, you're not… considering what she said… Are you?" Magnus asked.

"I don't know, what does it look like?!"

The human couldn't contain his worry any longer when he said: "Am I not allowed to be concerned for you?"

Dark Pit refused to answer. Instead, he raised his head and looked straight in the eyes of the sun. Its light dazzled him, however he did not let it deter him. Magnus stepped back, going in town to find a doctor to help him with his arm, then heard Dark Pit's voice. The angel was standing in the amphitheater, one arm raised up in the air, and called upon "Viridi!", the Goddess of Nature—that freak who sent a Reset Bomb to destroy a human city during the Uprising. Dark Pit slightly turned towards Magnus, one hand on his hip, and a true, sincere smile crept on his lips. It was probably the first time such a genuine gesture was directed at the human, and thus he felt all the more happy to see it. Dark Pit would never have allowed such a smile to appear on his face if he had known that Magnus was looking at him. Good thing he didn't. "Moody but not heartless," Magnus thought aloud, a smile spreading on his own lips.

A halo of light arose from the Heavens, and soon Dark Pit's wings started to glow in green and, mainly, to grow in size. They were almost twice as large as they were before. He flew towards the sky without a glance behind. Magnus shrugged and went to the nearest doctor for medical assistance. He'd not worry about Dark Pit coming back, because he knew that he would. The dark angel had told him several times that he felt like he was home in this city, that he wished Pit would come and live with him in his tiny house. Magnus doubted that it could fit two inhabitants, but maybe... Since they'd share a room, they could manage.

* * *

.oOo.

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"I know, Viridi," Dark Pit sighed, then he crossed his arms against his chest. His dark chiton was in very bad condition, sure, why'd he care? Sometimes, the Goddess of Nature really pushed far to bother him…

"I have to make a new one for you now!" the tiny Goddess said, whining already, and Dark Pit rolled his eyes.

"Then why not start right now? That would be progress."

"I can't sew! Never learnt how to!" Viridi exclaimed, before she gritted her teeth and growled in frustration. When would Dark Pit start taking care of himself? Coming back wearing such an outfit… It was uncanny! She was used to the fact that her commanders took great care of their physical condition—after all, Nature had provided them with their bodies! It was an affront to Nature not to pay attention to it, and same thing went for clothes! "How many times have I told you to watch yourself, Pittoo?"

"Call me that again and I punch you right in your stupid face, Viridi!" Dark Pit warned, his eyes suddenly darker than before.

Oh, of course, the nickname had reminded him of Pit. Even though the Goddess of Nature had not intended to hurt him by saying that, it was all the more tempting when she caught his menacing eyes staring at her. Dark Pit had changed, he was somewhat different ever since Pit had been living with him on the Overworld. She wasn't stupid enough not to notice that he ignored her completely whenever she called him out, that he never replied when she talked to him through telepathy, that he wouldn't come when there was a reunion with the other officers of the Forces of Nature… Even Phosphora had said something was off with him. Dark Pit had always been distant, had always been the kind of angel to stand his own ground and sometimes refuse Viridi's authority, but he'd never been silent and reserved. He'd never been hiding, he'd never been fleeing. Dark Pit never avoided a situation, he faced it and expressed the way he felt about it, even when it was to refuse lending a hand.

Viridi glanced at the dark angel, who had turned his back to her and looked in awe at the huge tree at the center of the Sanctum's hall. A few steps led to a door carved in the wood of its trunk—probably Viridi's office. It seemed to be a weeping willow, one of the few trees that Dark Pit was fond of. Such majesty, with its branches diving down. The sunrays, when they were caught in its leaves, glowed an unfamiliar greenish-gold color that mesmerized him every time. The dark angel then looked back at the Goddess standing a few steps away from him and sighed. "Where can I get a new tunic, then?"

"Palutena must have spares of Pit's," Viridi answered, and Dark Pit growled in anger. The little Goddess crossed her arms against her chest and raised an eyebrow at his attitude. "Aww, are you mad because we have to rely on her, Dark Pit?"

"Precisely."

"Next time, you'll take care of your belongings!" Viridi replied, smirking in triumph.

Dark Pit's only answer was another groan, then he nodded and accepted to ask for Palutena's assistance. The Goddess of Nature turned heels and walked to the center of the weeping willow, calling upon Palutena and asking her to come over with a spare tunic—if she happened to have one—since Dark Pit couldn't take care of what belonged to him. The Goddess of Light answered that she'd be over in under ten minutes, which satisfied Viridi enough for her to thank her for her service. Usually, she'd never thank her, but rather tell her to hurry up and stop bothering her. However, this time, it was a huge favor that Palutena was granting her and Dark Pit, and proper manners only came naturally to Viridi.

The dark angel knocked down at the door and allowed himself to step in, despite the fact that the Goddess hadn't replied. He felt invited everywhere anyways… What could she say? Even if she yelled at him, urged him to walk out, he'd just stand there, hands on his hips, and smirk like the asshat he really was. "Insolent little piece of…" Viridi growled, but she refrained herself from cursing. Instead, she sighed loudly. "Aughh… You are the most intruding officer I've ever had to deal with!"

"Thanks, love," Dark Pit replied, smirking at the light blushing of the Goddess.

"Don't do that with me!" Viridi exclaimed, hiding her reddening cheeks from his view. "Just because you _look_ like Pit doesn't allow you to play with my feelings for him!"

The dark angel shrugged one shoulder before peeking at what she was writing. "Well, you've never told him anyways."

"You know he's too oblivious to understand _anything_ ," Viridi said in response.

"Mhm, he's not the brightest in the bunch!" Dark Pit agreed, then his eyes wandered off as he muttered between his teeth: "Yet he's still the hero, what do you want…"

Viridi nodded, and couldn't help but smirk at the tint of jealousy that she heard in her officer's voice. The rivalry between Pit and Dark Pit had always been an important issue, but it seemed to her that it had grown even stronger over time. She had no idea why Dark Pit wanted to be superior to Pit by all means, but she found it rather cute. Suddenly, while still thinking about it, Viridi noticed the dark angel's eyes, which focused on the paper she was writing on. "Hey!" she cried out, and she quickly hid the letter she was writing with her arm over it. "That's awfully intrusive to look at what a Goddess is writing for one of her commanders!"

"Then don't write in front of me?" he snapped, rolling eyes. "You expect me not to be curious."

"No, Dark Pit; I expect you to be polite!"

Dark Pit huffed and stepped back, giving the Goddess a sense of privacy, despite the fact that he was still walking around her room. There wasn't much to see: a mirror that looked like a replica of the Mirror of Truth—undoubtedly built to try and reproduce the original in order to generate more troops, a wooden chair next to the desk on which Viridi was writing, and several bookshelves, all made from natural elements only. The angel had a thought for his own room in the Sanctum and jealousy crept in his heart; his room was simple, barely furnished, compared to this small office. _Privileges_ , he thought to himself. Sometimes, he wished he could go back to his dimension, where he himself was a God. He had an office just as furnished there; he missed it.

The angel returned his attention to Viridi when she stood up, brushing her hair with an organic, natural hairbrush—she had insisted on the 'organic' part. He raised an eyebrow, a mocking smile on his lips, and put a hand on his hip. The Goddess caught his glance on her and looked away, sighing. "Liking what you see?" she accused him, and he shook his head in exasperation.

"Not particularly, though I think I know someone who would," Dark Pit joked around, and Viridi groaned.

"Stop it!" she cried out, putting down her brush and looking right into his eyes. "Seriously!"

At this point, she was almost begging. Dark Pit rolled eyes but agreed and stopped ruffing around the subject. After all, he wouldn't like it if Viridi did the same thing to him. He admitted that Pit was also a very sensitive subject for him—one that he never _ever_ wanted to mention around the Goddess of Nature, since she was a real teaser in nature and would jump on the occasion to get on his nerves. _Never ever_ , he swore to himself. He remembered that one time where he had been sitting on his bed, letting his dreams take over him, and had kissed the air hoping it'd be Pit's lips instead. He recalled how panicked, how shocked and upset he had become when Viridi walked in, grinning at him. Dark Pit rolled eyes; everyone around the Sanctum had been taunting him with that since that day. Mainly Phosphora, because she was a… Anyhow. Strangely enough, Viridi hadn't paid much thought to it, she hadn't mentioned it to the dark angel, despite the fact that they had been alone more than once. He'd have thought that she would make fun of him, or even be jealous—nothing of the sort, or so it seemed at least.

Maybe asking Viridi why she hadn't said anything about it would be a great idea. Dark Pit raised his head, looked right into the Goddess' eyes, and opened his mouth. However, no words came out of it. He remained frozen before the curious little Goddess, before he finally managed to spit it out: "There's one thing that's been bugging me. You know that one time you caught me kissing in the air?"

"Hm?"

Dark Pit bit his lower lip, but he wasn't one to be disheartened so easily. He pushed aside the crippling pain in his stomach and continued: "You've never talked about it. I'd be damned if I didn't think you'd poke fun at me for that."

"That's honestly none of my business," Viridi answered, shrugging it off. "Besides, what's the point of rubbing salt on the wound? I know what that feels like, Pit isn't… very clever when it comes to these things. Of course, that was probably the funniest sight I've had of you, Pittoo, whining Pit's name and kissing the air, but… At the same time, I guess I felt pity for you. Shared experiences and all that."

"So you've also kissed in the air thinking about him?"

Viridi laughed at that. "Nah, wasn't such a _desperate little brat_. But now that I say it out loud, that description fits you just like your clothes!"

The dark angel frowned, unhappy with the answer he'd gotten, and was about to reply harshly when he was interrupted by the sound of Palutena's voice in the main hall below. Viridi gave him a glance that asked if he wanted to come down with her, but he shook his head and sat in the chair instead. He'd wait until she was done, he had no will of seeing Palutena after the altercation they had in the morning. Plus, there was a high enough chance that Pit had accompanied her… He'd never allow himself to see his face again, to plunge into his sapphire eyes. He'd rather stay away. He quickly found something to distract himself from the arrival of the Goddess of Light: there was a weapon, still a work in progress, on the desk. It looked like a bow, however Dark Pit wasn't exactly sure how it was supposed to work. "What's that meant to be, Viridi?" he asked.

"A bow, stupid! Made out of floral elements only—a _masterpiece_ , isn't it?" she answered him, and he smiled, all the more amazed.

Focused on the new object of his attention, Dark Pit startled when Viridi closed the wooden door behind her after she'd left to greet her visitor—hopefully in singular form. The angel couldn't help but feel slightly curious, so he dared to open the door and peek outside. He could very obviously see Palutena with a black tunic in her arms, and let out a sigh of relief. At least he wouldn't have to be wearing white clothes… He wouldn't have to be like Pit. Viridi's voice rose as she spoke with Palutena, joking about how her officer couldn't take a single care of anything, and they laughed together. Dark Pit was delighted, since he didn't hear any other voice with th—

"Where's Pittoo? Is he around, Viridi?" the _hero_ 's voice erupted from the sudden silence, and Dark Pit's heart missed a beat. He hid in the office, going straight for the corner at the end of the room and sitting down, bringing his legs to his chest. He was behind a seat, nobody would see him, right?

 _Wait… Why am I hiding?_ he thought to himself, without finding the courage it took to stand back up. Pit couldn't see him in this room, since he was in the hall and the door was now fully closed. He had no way of knowing his dark counterpart was there, so what… what was he hiding from? That was when he realized what truly scared him. _I'm hiding from my own self… My feelings…_ Dark Pit gulped and a single tear fell down his cheek. His body shook more than a leaf and his cheeks flustered with the blood rushing to his face. More tears soon followed the first, and he found himself sobbing, curled up in a ball in the corner of Viridi's office, where nobody would find him. He could faintly hear Pit's voice, he could hear him plead, ask for Viridi to lead him to his twin, but the Goddess did a good job at hiding the fact he was in the Sanctum.

"Please Viridi! I know he was supposed to come today, Arlon told me!"

 _Damn you, fucking Arlon…_ Dark Pit thought, however he focused on the conversation in the hall.

"Pit, no need to _whine_ , okay? He left already!"

Pit sighed. "Can you please tell him I want to see him? It's important…"

"Not today, Pit," Palutena spoke up, much to Dark Pit's surprise. Since when did she take his defense? Oh. No. She probably wasn't. She just didn't want Pit to see Dark Pit ever again. All of a sudden, that felt more accurate. "Pittoo isn't here and we shouldn't interrupt his affairs. He's probably busy on the Overworld."

"Aw, man…"

"Don't sulk, Pit!" Viridi tried to cheer him up—there she was, the little Goddess who gave up to her feelings. Dark Pit smirked at the thought; she just couldn't resist, no matter how dense Pit was. "Now now."

Dark Pit's heart shattered when he heard the disappointment in Pit's voice when he agreed to follow the two Goddesses to another room, where Viridi claimed they'd be better to talk. Dark Pit sniffed loudly but covered his mouth, noticing that everybody had stopped speaking.

"What was that?" Pit asked the two Goddesses he walked along with, staying alert in case a threat lurked in the shadows. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear _what_?" Viridi inquired—well played, but the dark angel doubted that would fool Pit.

Dark Pit cursed under his breath and prayed to Zeus that he wouldn't come upstairs and find him. "Please, make him go away…" he whispered, joining his hands in a prayer. Viridi was the first one to speak up, once again advising that they head towards another room. Even though the dark angel could decipher the pain in Pit's voice, his lighter version agreed to follow her and soon, there was no sound left in the hall. Dark Pit stood on his feet and rushed out of the office.

He felt relieved to see that everyone had left. He put a hand over his chest, caught his breath, and wiped his face with his arm. "Stupid me… Why'd I cry for this idiot?" he asked himself, voicing out his thoughts.

"Hiya Pittoo!"

When Dark Pit withdrew his arm, opening his eyes in shock, Pit was there.

* * *

 _To be continued…_

* * *

 **Updated: 02/11/2019**


	10. Chapter 9: My memories of you

_**Hello once again everyone! I hope you're all doing very well! I won't bother you with my usual, rather long author's notes, but instead I'll let you dive into it!**_

 _ **Read and review, it's always a pleasure to read your comments!**_

 _ **Yours truly, Circle of J.**_

* * *

 **Disclaimer: ****I do not own the characters from the Kid Icarus series. The deities mentioned are taken from Greek Mythology, remastered the way I imagine them. What I own, on the other hand, is the plot.**

* * *

 **Kid Icarus: Heirs of the Light**

* * *

 _Chapter 9: My memories of you_

* * *

 _"Hiya Pittoo!"_

Dark Pit winced when he heard those words again, echoing through his mind and sending him to the brink of madness. He didn't want to hear them anymore, he was growing sick of them… Just as he thought so, they started again, repeating themselves in his troubled mind. The torture, the torment he felt just listening to Pit's voice over and over… He could also see him, standing right before him, looking into his eyes with that sweet, soft glimmer of delight in his sapphire orbs. They shone as much, if not even more than the actual stones…

Dark Pit sniffed and hid even more in the corner of his own bedroom. The events came back to his mind. There had been an incident, an attack, a few days earlier at the Sanctum. He could picture it all over again, as it happened in front of his very eyes. The Sanctum had been attacked, so much so that the Forces of Nature, led by Dark Pit himself, were forced to call out for help. Palutena's army had answered positively to their request and the dark angel had done all he could to hold the menace. While he had survived, his army… They were not as lucky as he'd been. They had been decimated.

Medusa had stood proudly in front of him as she washed his army with a single wave of dark magic. Viridi had screamed in his ear, told him to move away, but his feet were glued to the ground. There, under the rays of the sun, under the weeping willow, he had watched in horror as Medusa had prepared a deadly attack for him. Once she had launched her attack, Viridi had to step in, and jumped in front of him. She did her best to contain the outrageous amount of energy that the attack had gathered, and was soon joined by Pit, who deflected the attack with one of Palutena's powers. The reflect was a success, Dark Pit had been amazed by the efficiency of the counter. Viridi had turned to Dark Pit when Medusa was ready to hit him again and, as a last resort, she had told him to take care of himself.

 _"I don't understand, Viridi!" he said, staring at his Goddess while she was tearing up, looking right into his ruby eyes._

 _The Goddess wiped her tears, made sure that Pit was handling well with Medusa, then she turned back towards Dark Pit and a light sob pushed past her lips. She shook her head, grasped his hands, and said: "There's no time to explain… You'll live."_

 _"Viridi—"_

 _"With Pit, one day, I promise you…"_

 _"Wait up—!"_

Before he could've finished his sentence, Dark Pit had felt his wings burning and growing. Pit had glanced at him and smiled, nodding. _Why had he nodded?_ Dark Pit wondered when he thought back about the events. _Did he know he was going to die and just accepted it—Did he embrace his fate despite knowing it was the end for him?_ The dark angel's heart sank at the questions he asked himself all the time, but that remained unanswered. Pushing those crippling thoughts aside, he plunged right back in his memories of the event—he was often forced to, his mind could only repeat the scenes all day long. Next thing he had known after his wings started glowing, Viridi had taken control of his flight and sent him to the Overworld, in the same city she always seemed to target.

Dark Pit had done his best to protest, had told her that it wasn't necessary, that he could also help them in the fight, but this time there was no answer from the Goddess of Nature. The dark angel had screamed, begged her to reply when, all of a sudden, the Power of Flight disintegrated, leaving him to brace himself for a big fall he had no way to slow down. Fortunately enough—or maybe Viridi had planned it?—Dark Pit had fallen in the lake, which was deep enough not to kill him when he landed in it. He had swam back to the shore and stood up as quickly as he could, screaming Viridi's name.

 _"Viridi!" he cried out yet again, but he was only met with silence on the other end. Frustrated, he cursed at all the Gods and looked up at the sky. With his wings soaked, it was pointless to even think about flying again before a good while. "Viridi, I swear this isn't funny!"_

All that to no avail. Tears had streaked down his cheeks, his body had started to shake, and the first thing he had thought to do was find Magnus in the city.

Dark Pit sniffed and cried harder at those memories. _She's dead, I'm sure of it_ , he thought, which only increased the intensity of his sobs. _And Pit is dead too. Fucking idiot, he knew he would die… Why did he let me go? And why did he nod?_ he asked himself once more, puzzled. _Maybe he wanted me to make it out alive. Maybe this wasn't_ my _fight and he knew it. Maybe… Maybe he really loved me._ Dark Pit shook his head, wanting to evade the subject, then he focused on something else. No thinking about Pit, not anymore—one doesn't stay stuck in the past, it's not good for their mental condition.

At least, Dark Pit knew for a fact that Palutena was still alive, so maybe there was hope for Pit. After all, she had said several times that she could revive her Centurions and the two angels as many times as she so desired, and Dark Pit just knew she wouldn't let Pit die. He had seen the Goddess of Light one time after the incident, she had been there to reassure him, to swear that, in times like these, she would be there standing next to him no matter what happened. She had told him to call her name, and assured that she'd be there anytime of the day.

 _"Hiya Pittoo!"_

"Shut up Pit… Get out of my head…" Dark Pit moaned in pain, before he sprung to his feet to walk up to the door. He knew that Magnus would come in the afternoon, and he was almost certain that he had to be close. His gut never lied to him—he inherited that from Pit, even though he'd never admit it. Just as he expected, the human started walking down the street and came up to him, taking his angel's friend in a warm embrace. Dark Pit returned the hug, let out a few more sobs that he wished never sounded so weak, and allowed Magnus to walk in with a hand gesture. Magnus didn't ask for more and walked in, putting down a bag of unknown treats on the table. He often brought gifts to warm his dark angel's heart, even more now that he was traumatized by the events he witnessed.

Dark Pit sat down on the couch, looked at Magnus, and sighed once more. _"Hiya Pittoo!"_ he heard again, and shivers went all the way down his spine, freezing him in place. The shrill, little voice that echoed in his mind, it was one that he wished to hear one more time, it was one that he… hoped he could hear very soon, at least once in his life. It was one that filled his heart with regrets for words he had never said, things he had never shared, and memories he had almost forgotten. He snorted at the thought: crazy how he remembered every little detail when the other was gone…

Magnus sat next to him and put a hand over his shoulder. He was ready to listen to the angel ranting, since he needed to lately. Getting his feelings, his rage but also his immense sorrow out of his poor, overwhelmed heart would save him tears late in the night. The human considered himself the angel's friend, so it was his role to be there for him. He was the shoulder Dark Pit decided to cry on, despite always looking so confident, so unbreakable. He proudly accepted to listen to him, as he, of all people, had personal experience with losing a loved one. He could understand his pain better than anyone else ever could. "Talk to me, dark angel face, I know you need it."

Dark Pit sniffed and ruffled his hair. He had taken off his laurel crown since the incident, and refused to wear it at any time. In his view, it was way too close to Pit's, too similar, too… perfect. He wanted nothing to do with it. "I've never been entirely honest with Pit," he began, his heart aching already at the mention alone of the light angel. However, Dark Pit did not let his feelings deter him from talking. "He never knew anything about me. He never… learnt about my true origins, nor did Viridi…" He stopped briefly after he mentioned her. "Viridi, she…" he continued, still refusing to look into Magnus' worried eyes. "She believed I was created from the Mirror of Truth as well… They didn't know it was a portal, they didn't know… They didn't know the necklace was a bridge between two dimensions—our respective dimensions, they… knew nothing of me. And yet, they… were those who understood me the best. Can you believe that? It's ridiculous, isn't it? To be friends with people you barely know… They were the best friends I've ever had in my entire existence—that includes my own dimension…"

Magnus nodded. "You mean, that dimension where you had _no_ friends at all?"

"You got it." Dark Pit shook his head and a smirk spread across his lips. It was a smirk filled with irony, nervousness, frustration and, mainly, self-hatred. Those feelings that Magnus could clearly identify were reinforced by the look in Dark Pit's eyes: his ruby eyes glowed with anger as he stared into nothing, hands clenched into fists. "And Medusa has taken them away from me…"

"It's not over for Pit," Magnus said, doing his best to be reassuring in his words.

Dark Pit darted a look at him. "Oh yeah?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Unable to contain his fury any longer, he let his sharp tongue get the best of him and snapped. He hated when it did that… "And how would you know that, mere human that you are?"

Magnus shrugged one shoulder. "Since you're still standing, I assume he's alive somehow."

"For how long, that's the real question, Magnus," Dark Pit wondered, more to himself than for Magnus to answer, and then he looked off and stood up, walking towards the window. He had imagined thousands of ways for his journey with Pit to end. But he had… never thought that Medusa would be involved in it. He had thought, like any other person would have, that once killed, an enemy couldn't just come back to life out of nowhere and kill hundreds of people. Because that would be called a plot convenience, or it could also be what Dark Pit named a 'big-middle-finger-from-Daddy-Zeus'. However, Dark Pit needed to change that mindset; Thanatos was a primary example of an enemy that couldn't stop coming back, despite dying three times per day. It was safe to assume that Hades, who had been the Lord of the Underworld, must have had the same ability himself, so why not Medusa?

The dark angel gritted his teeth as he stared at a few pedestrians walking down the street, caught up in their daily routines. Somehow, the city felt less alive now than it had been before the incident. Pit used to tell him that his mindset could shift his view of the entire world around him, but Dark Pit admitted that… he had never believed him until then. His lighter half often said: 'You'll see when you experience it!' and now that he did, the dark angel fully trusted his words. At the thought of Pit, Dark Pit trailed his hand up and touched, caressed the window. _"Hiya Pittoo!"_ he heard him again, and his eyes closed, focusing on the angel's voice in his mind.

"Yes, talk to me Pit… Keep talking to me…"

 _"Hey—Come on, wait up!" the light angel cried towards Dark Pit, who had started walking off. "Why have you been avoiding me?" Pit asked. When he saw Dark Pit's menacing eyes turn to him, he looked off and bit his lower lip. His wings fluttered down as he stared right at his feet. "I-I think I get it! Pittoo, I'm sorry for what I did. It wasn't right to leave like that."_

 _"No, it wasn't," Dark Pit agreed, then he put a hand on his hip, glaring at the angel of light. "So? What do you have to say, Pit?"_

 _Pit looked up, hopeful that his twin wasn't pissed at him too much, and the dark angel just rolled eyes. What could he do when facing these puppy eyes? Pit knew exactly what he was doing: he knew that Dark Pit couldn't resist them, even when he was furious towards him._ _Pit walked up to his twin and glanced down at Dark Pit's hands and slowly trailed his own up to them. As his fingers wrapped around his dark counterpart's, his cheeks turned red. Dark Pit was about to withdraw when he heard Pit whisper, under his breath: "You can call me all the names you want, I just want to fix this. I want to fix us."_

 _"And what is_ us _, Pit?"_

 _Pit had marked a pause, surprised that Dark Pit had even heard him, but then raised his head with determination. He wouldn't spoil his chance this time around. Plunging his sapphire eyes right in Dark Pit's ruby orbs, he beamed as his blush deepened: "Well, us!"_

Dark Pit shook his head to come back to reality, hearing Magnus stepping up to him. The guy couldn't be very discreet, considering each and every one of his steps felt like the ground was shaking underneath his feet. His head raised and Dark Pit met Magnus' eyes before his own darted to the ground. His fingers still caressed the glass, hoping it'd be Pit's skin instead of a window. Magnus ran a hand through the angel's hair, then pulled him closer to him in order to warm his cold body. Ever since he had been back from the Sanctum, he had stopped caring for himself—bad habit that Magnus tried to steer him away from, one step at a time. He often told him that Pit wouldn't want to see him like this, wouldn't like to witness Dark Pit turning into a real mess, but the dark angel was a stubborn one.

Sometimes, too much for his own good.

* * *

.oOo.

* * *

Dark Pit closed his eyes, but this time, he knew he wouldn't sleep. He heard Pit's voice every time he tried to relax, he could see his face, his eyes, his hair whenever he shut his eyes to drift off to sleep. He heard his laughter in the middle of the silence surrounding him. He grabbed onto his pillow tighter and eventually, after another word from Pit's mouth, he threw it across the room. "Can't you shut up?!"

 _"Admit it Pittoo, you like it when I talk!" Pit said, challenging his darker twin with a look. He seemed so confident about this. Dark Pit rolled his eyes and lightly pushed his counterpart away from him, so that he could open the doors of Palutena's palace and walk out. Pit held onto his tunic and pulled him back in, his blue eyes twinkling with happiness. "Come on, we could take a day off! You'd see, you love my conversations!"_

 _"Huh-uh, not true," Dark Pit replied, though himself was not convinced. "Now scram, I've got Viridi on the phone."_

 _"Uhm… Phawn…? Pit asked, dumbfounded, before he rushed after his twin, ashamed. He held out a hand, begging for Dark Pit's attention, when he thought of nothing better than to repeat his question: "H-Hey Pittoo, wait! What's a… phawn?"_

Dark Pit groaned and buried his face in his mattress. He was _that_ close to raging at the moment. All these conversations, these pointless details in his life, they kept coming back. Whenever he said something or heard someone talking about something, he'd hear Pit answer for him or to him, then the whole scene would play in the back of his mind. Dark Pit sat up in his bed, standing up to retrieve his pillow, then laid back down, hoping to find peace. He let out a sigh as more voices echoed in his head, and soon he opened an eye only to realize that a shadow was sitting next to him. It was not Pit, one reassuring thing—he wasn't going nuts yet.

Instead, it looked like a woman he knew pretty well; a woman he used to consider his mother in his dimension. "Aphrodite, what a surprise!" he cried out, looking straight at the Goddess of Love, who wore a long sleeved dress which fell along her body, highlighting her breasts and hips. She hadn't changed one bit in this dimension. "What brings you along?"

"I came to check on you," Aphrodite said, then her glowing pink eyes met his own despite the darkness around them. She ran her hand over his torso, flirting as always, and a huge smile spread across her painted lips. "You are the reincarnation of Eros, aren't you?"

"Used to be, at least," Dark Pit answered, before he had enough of her touchy attitude and pushed her hand off of him. He then sat back up on the edge of his bed, right next to the Goddess, and dared to look at her in the eyes. She was attractive to almost any being alive, a little like Pit when he thought about it. Well, to almost any being alive, except for him of course; in spite of the fact that he was not in his own dimension anymore, he still considered her to be his mother. A different incarnation of his mother, but her spirit nonetheless. It didn't help that she had the exact same careless attitude, the exact same hair color and eye color. Her voice felt… a little lighter, but he somehow expected it. Seemed like this dimension was a _lighter_ version of his own anyways, since it hadn't yet plunged in the Days of Darkness—and he would make sure it never would.

Aphrodite ran her fingers along his thigh, probably thinking she would charm him. However, the gesture only got on his nerves, causing him to click his tongue and slap her hand off of him, a bit stronger this time than the previous one. If she was going to be insistent, he was going to be violent. He'd never allow to be touched this way by his own mother, different incarnation or not. The Goddess furrowed her brows but only chuckled, running her thin, elegant fingers through her blond hair. "Why 'used to be'? What changed it?"

"I appeared in a new dimension, I think that holds its weight," Dark Pit said, not looking away from her eyes. His own were lightly gleaming, since he was happy to see a familiar face in this world where he knew nothing. Even though she wasn't exactly who she used to be, her pink eyes couldn't lie to him; she still liked him. He refused, however, to see any other kind of affection than a mother-to-son relationship. "But if you need, I know who your incarnation of Eros is. He's Pit."

The Goddess of Love rose off of her seat and smiled widely. She had known it all along, now she only needed to find the young angel in Skyworld and explain the situation. She had missed her sidekick for such a long time… Her heart was beating really fast at the perspective of seeing Eros again. They had always been friends… But would he remember her? If he was a new incarnation, maybe he wouldn't… What a shame that would be, but maybe she'd be able to remind him? With that in mind, Aphrodite nodded to thank Dark Pit for his help and intended to leave right away, however she felt a hand holding her back, wrapped around her wrist. Aphrodite turned around and looked into Dark Pit's ruby eyes before he spoke out his worries: "The necklace, Moth—Aphrodite. Was it a gift from you?" Aphrodite's eyes gleamed when he said that, so he decided to continue: "It was, wasn't it? What was the goal behind it?"

"I figured it was time for you to accomplish your destiny," she said, then she broke free from Dark Pit's grip. "But remember, you can only use it once. After that, it will break. So no mistake allowed; it's a one-time gate."

The dark angel shrugged his shoulder. "I don't have it anymore anyways, so talk about Destiny."

The Goddess' smile faded when she heard those words, taken aback. What did he mean, did he lose it? Did he know how important—and mostly, how catastrophic it would be if a human or—worse, one of Medusa's commanders got their hands on it? Her necklace was one of a kind… It had been created by Kronos, along with the dark angel's father Chaos, before the beginning of Time and given to her. She had been its keeper for her entire existence, part of her soul was contained in it… Aphrodite blinked in horror when she realized the stakes of this loss; if a human got a hand on the necklace, what would become of them? Even though she had been clever enough to link the stone to the Mirror of Truth, she feared that any kind of mirror could do the trick and open up Dark Pit's dimension.

Dark Pit glanced at her, thinking about why the necklace had even been crafted in the first place. Was it always meant to unite their dimensions? If so, what was the point if it had never been used before? And why their two dimensions specifically? There had to be thousands, if not even millions of others! Why their dimensions? It seemed all too random in his opinion. He shook his head: no, he was sure that him coming out of the Mirror at the same time Pit hit it was coincidental. He refused to believe that he'd been the puppet of the Gods of his dimension, in addition to these who planned it all along. He had his free will! It couldn't be otherwi—

"The necklace was created by Kronos and Chaos to unite the two strongest angels, chosen from the start, that the Universe had ever held," Aphrodite said, starting off her explanation on a very bad note—in Dark Pit's humble opinion at least. Where the fuck was freedom of speech and actions in all of this?

Before he had time to complain, the Goddess pursued her story: "He who saw everything, along with his beloved brother, knew that he would need an alliance between Light and Darkness to defeat a threat that doomed the entire Universe. For that, he needed a fearless hero from another dimension, already fallen in the hands of Evil, to help and guide an innocent but fierce warrior from this dimension."

"So I and Pit, I assume."

Aphrodite nodded and eyed at the dark angel, whose eyes shot daggers at her. Of course he wasn't going to be pleased with the news… But somehow, she felt like it was time to tell him all about his mission. He should be aware that he had been brought there for a reason, right? Or did he just believe it had been an incident? An 'incident', in a realm filled with all-knowing Gods? That was ridiculous, he couldn't have believed that. Well… there had been an incident, once, but she would refrain from mentioning it. The memory of it was painful to everyone…

The Goddess of Love turned in order to fully face Dark Pit, a light glimmer in her pink eyes; she could feel the motherly love of her other incarnation rushing in her own veins, and the feeling was incredible. She had always wanted to have a son… "Dark Eros, I know this comes in as a blow, but you must understand that the fate that your dimension knew could also extend to this one… If Medusa manages to—"

"Kill Palutena, then it's the end of us, got it. Though please, I like my name as Dark Pit, if you will," the dark angel replied, gritting his teeth. "So let me get this straight: all of this was planned all along? No matter what, we'd have ended up like this? I'd have been ripped away from my dimension, from my family, my sister, no matter my fucking 'choices' in my life?"

"Dark Pit—"

"Where's this stupid necklace? Tell me. I'll go get it."

Aphrodite pulled out a map in front of his eyes, and soon it turned into a paper version that the dark angel could hold in his hands. Without adding a word, the Goddess of Love turned away and bit her lower lip anxiously. Since her worry had taken over her, she still felt the need to say certain things. "Don't reject Pit because of what I told you. I should've kept it all a secret, you should feel grateful that I didn't."

Dark Pit scoffed and put his hands on his hips. "Oh yeah, right! Thanks for manipulating me."

"Please—"

"I'll let Dad know what I think about it next time I see him, believe me," Dark Pit added, then he pulled up the map he just acquired to look at the position of the necklace, marked with a pink cross near the river, in the forest. Exactly where Pit had left it. If he had known what was up with it, he'd have made sure to take it back. But it wasn't too late to catch up; he was going to the river right there and then. And he was going to destroy this curse once and for all.

 _"Hey! Slow down, Pittoo! I can't run, remember?" Pit exclaimed when Dark Pit pulled him by the wrist, leading him to the stable where Phos and Lux spent their days eating. Even though he was not used to this kind of attitude, the light angel gladly followed his twin and they both hid in a stall, where they were sure that no Centurion would find them. Who would expect them to be there?_

 _The light angel then looked up at Dark Pit and breathed heavily through the mouth. "Lady Pa…lutena told me… to rest, Pittoo…"_

 _"Then how about you shut your mouth and take deep breaths?"_

 _Pit pouted at the snap but agreed, keeping quiet and concentrating on his breathing. He had closed his eyes to focus entirely, and his dark counterpart would have been stupid not to take advantage of that. So, Dark Pit leaned towards Pit and stole him a kiss, which made him blush wildly as his eyes sparked open. The dark angel smirked; he liked to embarrass his lighter twin, he looked so ridiculous with those red cheeks of his'. Obviously enough, he'd never admit to liking the kisses—they were just for fun, he didn't mean any of it—did he? Nah, just cutesy, childish games that Pit seemed to enjoy so much. Speaking of a stupid game, Pit held Dark Pit's hand and aligned their fingers. He watched in awe, since of course they fitted perfectly._

 _The dark angel was about to turn back and open the stall so that they could go spar in the fields or something, when Pit looked at him with curious eyes. "Do you think fate is written?" he asked, tilting his head to the side, and Dark Pit sat back down, surprised by the suddenness—and seriousness—of the question. Pit glanced back at Dark Pit's hands and grabbed them once again, aligning their fingers once more. His darker counterpart frowned, confused, but the light angel continued, his eyes unable to get off of their fingers. "Do you think that, sometimes, things are planned in a way so that they align perfectly—like our fingers?"_

 _"That'd be assuming that Gods can predict the future, or that we have no freedom," Dark Pit answered, then he raised an eyebrow. A smirk grew on his lips. "Though that wouldn't make a big difference for you, Pit-stain."_

 _"Hey!" Pit reacted, before he pouted and looked off. "Just a random thought."_

"Now you have your answer, Pit," Dark Pit murmured, echoing to the scene he had just witnessed once again. Aphrodite furrowed her brows, uncertain of what had happened, and the dark angel's only response was rushing out of the room and picking up his favorite Silver Bow from the table. He briefly eyed at the bag Magnus had brought, and walked up to it in order to open it.

The gift was nothing more than Pit's medallion, with its shining red jewel.

* * *

 _To be continued…_

* * *

 **Updated: 02/11/2019**


	11. Chapter 10: Stone-formation

_**Hi everyone, I hope you are doing well! As of right now, I am updating the old chapters, adding in details that I may have missed and slightly changing some paragraphs that didn't fit my taste anymore. I encourage you to read them again, since the situations are rather different and it will affect the rest of the story.**_

 _ **Anyways, I'll leave you with this new chapter! Read and review, remember ;)**_

 _ **Yours truly, Circle of J.**_

* * *

 **/!\ Warning: Bad ending** (because nothing ever ends well in my fictions x)) **/!\**

* * *

 **Disclaimer: ****I do not own the characters from the Kid Icarus series. The deities mentioned are taken from Greek Mythology, remastered the way I imagine them. What I own, on the other hand, is the plot.**

* * *

 **Kid Icarus: Heirs of the Light**

* * *

 _Chapter 10: Stone-formation_

* * *

Under the cloak of the starry night sky, Dark Pit took a deep breath when he felt his foot sink in the mud. The fresh scent of the trees, of rain, of a nearby river filled him with nostalgia. The sun had been swapped with the moon this time though, which made it a lot less luminous than it had been in Pit's and Magnus' company, so many days earlier. The silver light from the moon cast its glow on the water current, giving a strange, yet bewitching feeling to which Dark Pit had trouble resisting. The leaves of the trees, whistling with the slight evening breeze, sang their dreamy song in his ears, though he managed to snap out of his trance and walk further into the woods. Anything could be lurking in the shadows, since darkness had taken over the landscape.

 _Pit had been walking in front of them ever since they had walked in the forest, and gasped at every little thing—even as insignificant as a bird squatting over his head to fly to another branch. His twin had never once glanced away from him, for he observed every one of his movements and loved to meet those glistening blue eyes when they happened to cross his red gaze._

 _Pit soon turned towards his two friends, ran up and pulled Dark Pit by his wrist. He led him to a tree that he liked, though it had nothing special to itself—but maybe he was skeptical since he was accustomed to the sight of them, working for Viridi all the time—and started ranting about the color of its trunk. Dark Pit admitted that he had barely listened; he was too focused on the fluctuations of Pit's sweet, adorable voice in his eardrums._

 _"Pittoo—"_

 _"It's just a tree," Dark Pit shrugged. After he said that, he leaned against the tree and stared right into Pit's eyes, which glimmered with a strange mix of curiosity and fear. Raising an eyebrow at his cryptic expression, his darker twin glanced at Magnus, who hadn't waited for them and was walking further in the woods. "How about we don't waste time, Pit-stain?"_

 _"Can I?" Pit dared to asked, though he seemed hesitant, and Dark Pit's eyes widened when he understood what he meant._

Dark Pit walked up to the tree he thought he recognized when he thought back at the flashback he just had. Resting his hand on its trunk, he closed his eyes and breathed in through the nose, letting the soothing feeling of Pit's presence flow over his sorrow. Even though it was shallow, unreal, it yet felt so true, so sincere… Dark Pit ran his hand along the trunk, sensed every inch of it, imagining it to be his twin's body. Without realizing it, he had stepped closer to it, only inches away from kissing it. His eyes still shut, he let his fantasies drown him—drown him faster than a swirl of water would have. "Oh Pit… I miss you…" he whispered under his breath. His heart lightened, his lips distorted in a smile, and he could hear his twin's voice echoing in his mind.

 _"You usually never let me touch you," Pit remarked, running his hand on Dark Pit's torso. Of course the dark angel—who had always been repelled by the idea of being physically close to someone—was tensed. Nonetheless, he allowed it for some reason he wasn't really sure of himself. Pit's touch felt so light, so sweet, so intoxicating—he couldn't get enough of it. In spite of his paralysis, he yearned for the light angel's swift brushes against his skin. "It's not so uncomfortable, now is it Pittoo?"_

"Oh no it's not…" Dark Pit whispered, answering to his angel's voice that only he could hear. Keeping his eyes shut, oblivious to the sad, bleak reality of the world around him, he ran his hand along the trunk of the tree and inhaled its scent with delight. He could sense that of Pit, and his cheeks flashed red instantly. His fingers brushed against the soft skin he could feel under them, and he eventually sighed and decided to face the cold hard truth: he opened his eyes and stared right at the tree in front of him. "Now I wish it was real, too…"

 _Pit chuckled and poked his nose. "Sometimes, it feels like you and I live in a different reality," he said, though he had not stopped chuckling. Dark Pit frowned, puzzled, and wanted to ask what his twin had meant, however he had no time to do so. Pit noticed his curious eyes and continued all by himself: "You only see the dark side of things, when all I see is the light."_

 _"Maybe because you're stupidly optimistic?" Dark Pit suggested._

 _Pit pouted and bit his lower lip, before he looked right into Dark Pit's ruby eyes. "Or because you're all gloom and doom?"_

 _"Aw, sounds cute when you say it."_

 _The light angel's wings fluttered up and he joined his hands, ecstatic. He jolted off his bed, pushing the light, velvety blankets off of him, and his eyes twinkled. Dark Pit smirked at the view, feeling his heart jump up when he met those sapphires, but he didn't have time to step out of the captain's room before Pit asked: "Oh! Pittoo! That means you think I'm cute?"_

"I do, I really do," Dark Pit replied. His normal self, on the other hand, had said: _"Nah! Why'd I_ ever _think that, stupid?"_ , but the dark angel refused to listen to him. Instead of focusing on his past self's attitude towards Pit, he darted a look towards the map he held in his hand. He peeked at it, looked at the location of the pink cross, and started walking again without looking behind. He could almost feel Pit staring at him, but knew that he was nothing but an illusion. His steps led him to two different paths, and he couldn't remember which one they had followed. Until a memory struck him, and he could see Magnus walk to the left with his precious light angel, joking around about something he was unable to hear.

Dark Pit decided to follow them, trusting that his mind was not tricking him, and soon arrived at _the_ spot. He could picture Pit sitting on the ground, playing with a wooden stick, whereas himself and Magnus were arguing. _"Don't ever touch me!"_ he heard himself scream at the human's face, very loudly despite the distance he kept from his illusions. In the background, Pit stood there, a few steps away from them, staring at them both with a glimmer of worry in his blue eyes. He had that serious expression; those slightly frowned brows, the barely noticeable parting of his lips and his clenched fists. Granted with such a new and unexpected perspective on the scene before him, Dark Pit could truly see the masterpiece his precious little Pit used to be. _What beauty, what elegance he had…_ he thought to himself, and he couldn't help but crack a smile—even though he'd hate to admit it to himself, and even more so to Pit.

It was movement that caught his attention. Dark Pit witnessed the light angel sitting down, as if he watched a real life movie, and walked past his past self and Magnus to look at the wooden stick Pit was playing with. It didn't appear to have anything particular to itself, until his twin turned it around and saw a strange marking on it. He tried brushing it through his hair, but Dark Pit wanted to hold him back to look at the mark. He attempted to grab the wooden stick from his hands, however his hand went right through it. Nothing but thin air.

The dark angel sighed and sat down next to Pit. "You know, at that moment, I had really wished you'd talk to _me_ instead of Magnus," Dark Pit said to his lighter self, whom he was imagining next to him, based off of his memories of him.

Pit didn't look at him; he kept playing with the stick in his hands as though he had never heard him at all. Then Magnus suggested settling there, and the light angel's wings fluttered up as he sprung to his feet. Suddenly, Dark Pit had an idea—even though it'd get him far from his main objective: he was going to follow Pit in the woods, to see how and when the wolf had arrived to terrorize him. Maybe he'd learn a thing or two from the event. When Pit ran towards the deep woods and away from his past self's view, he completely vanished from existence.

Dark Pit frowned and stared back at his own self. Of course, these were still _his_ memories. If he didn't see where Pit headed, he couldn't see him now… For a moment, he had managed to lose himself in the heartwarming memory of Pit, and to forget that those visions were illusions from his mind.

"Gods, wish I had followed him in there now," Dark Pit sighed.

His eyes caught something that shined in the grass, and he narrowed them to see it clearer. The stone. It was unlike the other stones, even though it didn't light up anymore. It almost looked like a simple piece of glass amongst the grass, next to a worn out fire pit. He went forward and picked it off the ground, rubbing it on his tunic to clean it. Well, it wasn't perfect, but at least he was able to make out the mirror shape on its bottom. Dark Pit examined the necklace from up close, trying to find a way to light it up. "Maybe there _is_ a switch, after all."

He smirked as he thought of another option, much more cliche. He felt ashamed at the idea of doing it, actually. But if he had to, he wouldn't hesitate one second—for Pit's sake. "If I whisper 'I love you' to the stone, you think it'd work, Pit?" he asked his lighter self, though he did not hope for an answer. He cringed internally, since he'd never said those words to or towards anyone in the past, and braced himself when he stared into the stone.

 _"Well, us!"_

 _"There's no us, Pit." Dark Pit frowned and looked off, ready to walk away and lock himself up in his room. Pit's smile was a weapon so strong that it hit him right in the heart, and he couldn't accept that. The dark angel pushed his lighter half away from him, took a few steps back, then eventually he turned away and was about to run off to his room. Pit sighed sadly, catching his attention, and he held a few tears from falling. "What, isn't that true? You left without a glance behind."_

 _"I said I was sorry about that!"_

 _"Still, I don't have to forget about it for that matter. And please, on Zeus' name, don't start crying, Pit. You're a grown up now, aren't you?"_

 _Pit looked off to the side, obviously hurt even though he'd grown used to his twin's occasional snaps, but Dark Pit convinced himself that he couldn't care any less. He snorted, turned his heels and walked off to his room. However, he hid behind the door to the hallway, curious to hear if Pit would say anything. He was not disappointed, for the light angel approached the door from behind and rested his hand on it. He could hear him sob, whimper like a toddler who had been refused a hug—comparison that he found very accurate when he thought about it—as he whispered quietly:_ _"You don't know how much I love you…"_

"You don't know…" Dark Pit began, tears flowing down his cheeks as he remembered those words—the last he's ever heard Pit say before the incident at the Sanctum. "You don't know how much I love you too, Pit…"

For a short moment, there was no reaction whatsoever from the jewel. It disappointed the dark angel, who had hoped those stupid movies that Pit watched so often would come to reality. He eyed at the stone, desperate, and wrapped his fingers around it, as though this would awaken it. Still, nothing. "Maybe this thing's really fucked," he whispered in defeat, before he dropped it to the ground. He had barely enough time to turn back: the stone started shimmering once again, and the dark angel blinked in response to the increasingly blinding light. He looked back at it, a hand covering his eyes until they accommodated to the sudden purple glow. The grass that surrounded the necklace smelled more and more like it was burning though, and that did not invite Dark Pit to take the stone in his palm.

Despite it all, the dark angel's eyes widened and a smile spread across his lips. He crossed his arms, amused, and wiped the tears off his cheeks. _Ironic, it worked!_ he thought, shaking his head lightly. Aphrodite was such a romantic soul… for the Goddess of Love and Lust and all. Dark Pit didn't let his thoughts wander any farther and leaned in to pick up the glowing necklace. Surprisingly, it didn't burn him, even though he jerked back when it touched his skin for the first time. Once the heat seemed to have significantly dropped down, Dark Pit wrapped the chain holding the pendant around his right wrist. He tightened it so that it would not fall off so easily—even during his daily battles—and gazed at the stone as it dangled from left to right, shining as bright as his love for Pit.

This time, he would tell him everything. He couldn't hold back, he desired Pit too much to deny it. His body was sore, craving his touches, kisses, yearning for his affection. He would go deaf if he didn't hear the angel's voice pretty soon. He would go blind if he didn't meet his sapphire, magnificent glistening eyes in the next hour—he knew it was all true. This time, it was time. "I'm coming for you, Pit," Dark Pit promised. He then looked into the sky, determination in his eyes, and enveloped his fingers around the stone, which hanged just loosely enough to rest in his palm. He cleared his throat and closed his eyes. "Palutena, do you hear me? Can I come over?"

No answer.

Strange, but maybe she hadn't heard him yet. So he decided to try his luck again, maybe this time she'd be fully awake or disposed to answer his request. He called out to the Goddess of Light, smiling when he thought about all he'd have to say to Pit if he was there, if he wasn't dead. He was fed up with fighting his own feelings, he wanted to tell him everything, to express his admiration for him. He wanted him to be aware of his undying love for him. Dark Pit took a deep breath, bracing himself. "Come on, Palutena. What's taking so long?"

 _"P-Pittoo, what a surprise!"_ the Goddess answered, in panic despite the tranquil vibe she tried to convey. _"I'm sorry for keeping you waiting. H-Hang in there, alright? I'll be picking you up in one second!"_

"Uhm, you think you're talking to Pit or what?" Dark Pit snarled. Did she really think she could trick him? "I'm not stupid, in case you're wondering, and you're out of breath. So, tell me: what the fuck is happening up there?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and putting his hands on his hips. He could easily decipher Palutena panting, and he wondered if something wasn't happening with Pit. He smirked at his own dirty mind, despite the slight hurt he felt in his heart at the thought itself. "Maybe I can give you a hand, I'd sell my staff to Hades just to see you make out with Pit."

 _"O-Oh!"_ Palutena reacted, and she seemed really surprised. Genuinely. _"At least now I know what you're into!"_

"Come on! Don't tell me you've never thought of it—I wasn't born yesterday, you know."

 _"No, only four months ago."_

"Don't get smart with me."

Once again, it took her a minute or two to answer him. He really started to wonder about what was going on with her—maybe she didn't want to talk to him? He snorted at the thought; oh, he'd not doubt it for one second. They didn't have the best relationship in the world. Though usually, in spite of their quarrels and constant disagreements, she always agreed to bring him into Skyworld to visit Pit. What was different this time around?

Palutena's voice stirred him away from his thoughts. _"_ _Pittoo, I'll be honest with you: I really don't think it's wise to pull you in."_

Dark Pit's eyes lit with curiosity. "Now now, you know you made me curious. Why wouldn't you want me to come?" The dark angel stood still, waiting for her answer and thinking about harsh come backs that he could throw at the Goddess of Light. He liked to predict what he'd say, since that would spare him the effort of actually being involved in their boring conversation. However, Palutena never replied—much to his amusement. "Backing out?" he scoffed, then he clicked his tongue. "I'm disappointed in you! What, you don't want me to see Pit anymore because you're afraid I may be a threat to him again?"

 _"Go home, Dark Pit. I can't let you come to Skyworld, I'm sorry—Yes, that's a good choice, Pit. Just be careful out ther—"_

Silence.

…

 _What the hell?_ he asked himself, on the verge of snapping.

However, after a deep breath, he was able to repel it. "Aaaaaand just like that. Got it," the dark angel sighed, rolling eyes. Their connection had seemingly been interrupted out of nowhere. Stubborn as ever, Dark Pit called out to the Goddess, insisted that he really wanted to come, and waited until she was ready to pull him in. Though, he noticed that the sky was getting… significantly darker as minutes passed. Minutes during which he stood in silence, the cold wind beating up his face and freezing him on the spot. Dark Pit grew worried—and mostly tired of waiting around—and narrowed his eyes, trying to see if there was anything threatening in those scary-looking clouds. There wasn't anything special though, he examined the situation from afar and nothing in sight. "You guys aren't getting better with communication, I see."

 _"Look at the sky, Pittoo!"_ Palutena finally screamed in his ear.

 _Connection reestablished!_ he thought to himself, and he raised an eyebrow. "What about it?"

 _"Don't you see them?! Do you need a new pair of eyes?"_

He was almost deafened by the shrill voice that erupted in his eardrums. He winced and crossed his arms. "Well there isn't shit in those black clouds, I've looked, mind you." Dark Pit sighed, getting seriously annoyed. Nonetheless, he let a smirk spread across his lips when he added: "Though I wouldn't say no to a brand new pair of _blue_ eyes. Seems to me that I've always liked them better."

 _"Really, Dark Pit?"_

"You walked right into that one."

Palutena groaned in anger, which only made him laugh under his breath, but she went silent again. Tapping his foot on the ground, he waited for her to talk, and ended up growling when she didn't. Dark Pit shot a glare at the pitch black clouds lingering in the night sky above his head. He shook his head when his eyes caught movement in the clouds. He frowned, only to see that hundreds of Monoeyes and Komaytos spewed out of them and headed directly towards the sky. "Shit, fuck! Skyworld!" he realized, a little too late. "Palutena, warp me in! I can help you out!"

 _"Dark Pit, go home, I —Pit!"_ she screamed in his ear, and her voice started shaking. _"_ _Pit, let me see!"_

"What in the Underworld is going on, Palutena?!" Dark Pit called her out.

 _"It's—Pit! No! I can't—No! Please, not you!"_

"WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH PIT?!" the dark angel panicked, his voice shattering, strangled in his own throat.

 _"Trust me, you'll pay fo—"_

Despite him waiting, the Goddess of Light never continued her sentence. Dark Pit's heart felt like it was about to explode, because he was concerned something might have happened to Pit—concern that was strengthened by the sudden pain he felt in his chest, which had nothing to do, for sure, with his pouding heart. He gulped and insisted: "Palutena! I have my bow, you have to let me in!"

Nothing.

"Come on, please, don't make me beg! LET ME IN!" he tried to yell louder despite how painful it was, considering he had broken his voice; all to no avail.

Dark Pit gritted his teeth, cursed his bad luck, and thought about the stone he held in his hand. _"You can only use it once. […] It's a one-time gate."_ That was what Aphrodite had told him. One time, one travel. His brain started to hurt, as he considered using it to go to Skyworld before it was too late—if it wasn't already. But on the other hand, he… he really wanted to go back to his dimension someday as well, and that was the only access to it… Could he really choose to sacrifice his wish, the object of his daily prayers in the past? Could he really… become a part of this dimension where he never fitted in? He'd lose everything—his mother, his… temple… Er, well, everything he had ever known would be wiped out of existence!

If he took that decision, if he used the jewel to head back to Skyworld, it would be over and he'd never see his mother's face again, he'd never… feel whole again, not fully. Wasn't it too big of a deal? Could he really accept sacrificing this much? He… He loved Pit, but did he love him enough for that? And what if Pit didn't love him the way he thought he understood it? What would become of Dark Pit if that was the case?

The dark angel was now shaking from head to toe, as rain started pouring from the sky. "Pit needs me, he needs me, he needs me! But… I can't pay that high of a price…" No, he… He couldn't resolve to use the necklace. Plus, even if he did want to do it, he'd have no way of coming back from Skyworld afterwards, since if the Goddess of Light was in trouble… She would not grant him the Power of Flight; which meant he was going to be stuck in Skyworld until he somehow… freed Palutena… who would be imprisoned in another realm… When he thought about it, that was all beyond stupid and ridiculous. He shook his head, cursing at himself for even considering it in the first place.

Refusing to use his stone, all options considered, Dark Pit looked back at the sky and called Palutena. The skies became darker than they'd ever been, and suddenly, something fell at the dark angel's feet—something that was _not_ a droplet of water. It was a Centurion, dead already, turned into… "Stone?!" the dark angel jerked up, his wings stretching in horror. He stepped back, shaken by what he just witnessed, and thought again about his options… "Viridi is out, not an option… Pit can't make me fly, since the poor idiot can't fly himself, and Palutena doesn't respond… What is there left?!" he panicked, thinking out loud while his heart raced in his chest.

 _"Think, Pittoo!" Pit screamed at his ear while he held his twin's hand, backing off since several monsters from Zeus' army had gathered around them, preventing them from running off. Dark Pit squeezed his hand to reassure him, glared at the soldiers heavily armed, and his eyes scanned his surroundings. Panic had not yet taken over him, but Pit… he was trembling like a leaf, probably convinced that this time was the end._

 _But it wasn't going to be, because Dark Pit still had a service he could ask a certain God of Travel…_

"Of course!" he cried out when realization hit him, face palming and shaking his head. How stupid could he be? For a moment, he thanked whatever God had arisen this flashback to give him the answer he was looking for, then his eyes focused on the pitch black sky. "Hermes!" he called out, at the top of his lungs. He wasn't too thrilled by the idea of contacting the God of Travel and Communication, but… what choice did he have? Skyworld was in danger— _No, I don't fucking care about that!_ Pit was in danger, and that was were the dark angel drew the line. Medusa had overstepped her ground. She thought she had the right to take what was his property, what had been destined for him all along away from him while he was stuck on the Overworld… Stupid snake, he'd soon make her regret ever coming up to the land of angels.

 _"Oh, Dark Pit! Now I didn't expect to hear from you!"_ Hermes answered from the Heavens.

The angel cringed at the mere sound of his voice. He hated him ever since he betrayed him: he had worked up Dark Pit in order to earn his trust and loyalty, and when he had needed him the most, he had turned his dark angel into his personal puppet to do his dirty deeds. At the last minute, when they were caught in the act, Hermes had claimed that Dark Pit had wanted to do it on his own account. Thus, he hadn't been blamed for stealing the sacred fire of Zeus' Mount Olympus—the dark angel had taken the full responsibility on his shoulders. Needless to say, he had been banished, but he didn't want to be under Hermes' control anymore anyways, so it didn't matter to him. Out of pride, he usually claimed that _he_ had decided to stop working for Hermes, that it was _his_ decision. They would never know the truth, so, he had the right to twist it however he wanted to.

Dark Pit snarled at the memories creeping up in his mind, but he took a deep breath to soothe his ironically _burning_ rage. He had to rely on him this time, it was a one time thing. He swore it to himself, in the name of all those he loved… "You know what, I really didn't miss you, jerk."

 _"Now that hurt! No, just kidding, wouldn't want you to worry there. In fact, I have heard about you a lot recently in the Pantheon. You're the angel from the other dimension!"_

"Huh-uh." Dark Pit crossed his arms and tapped his foot on the ground, already losing patience with the God. "Well? You owe me one, remember?"

 _"Uhm, I have no clue what you're referring to, young angel."_

"I'm sure those still apply in different dimensions," Dark Pit certified. "Now you must do something for me, that's how trading works."

The God Hermes sighed, defeated. Yes, he was quite aware of what his counterpart had done to Dark Pit in his original dimension. Now, he wasn't proud of him, but he had no way of changing anything. What happened in parallel worlds was not to be dealt with. However, since… Since his other incarnation had done such a number on the dark angel, he supposed he indeed owed him a little payback. The dark angel raised an eyebrow, waiting for the verdict, and Hermes sighed once more. _"_ _What do you need, angel?"_

"The Power of Flight, no less," Dark Pit said, sounding cold and detached in spite of the deep fear that moved him within. He prayed to Zeus that he'd make it out on time to save Pit… Though he could already feel himself become numb; not a good sign.

 _"Don't you think that's a tad bit of a lot to ask?"_ Hermes asked him.

Dark Pit shook head and eventually clicked his tongue, about to snap but miraculously managing to suppress it. "If you could hurry your ass up, that'd be great, there's someone waiting for me!" he demanded. Suddenly, he felt heat in his feathers and watched them grow in size, become sharper—almost in the shape of blades—and he was lifted from the ground. He flapped his wings and noticed with delight that he himself controlled his path this time around. Sounded like way more fun than with the two Goddesses… The dark angel looked towards the sky in triumph and flew around for a bit, appreciating the wind beating against his feathers and brushing through his hair. "That took you way too long, now I'm off."

 _"Dear Zeus… You can be glad my incarnation in your dimension owed you a_ _favor, otherwise I'd never allow you to talk to me this way!"_ Hermes groaned from the Heavens, in a somewhat threatening tone, however Dark Pit only shrugged it off. _"_ _This version of the Power of Flight that I have granted you will wear off in twenty-four hours, starting now. Make sure you get everything done before that, because then, don't even dare calling me."_

"Like I would anyways! I'd rather die in Hades' privates than talk to you again," the dark angel smirked as the God sighed. He could very much imagine him shaking his head. "Anyways, I won't thank you, since that's only fair. Plus, I'm supposed to be somewhere right now."

 _"Whatever shall I say… Good luck, angel. Make sure you don't die."_

"Not your problem. Now scram." He felt very satisfied that Hermes never replied. Dark Pit flapped his wings in excitement and flew towards Skyworld in the blink of an eye. Time to deal with whatever was happening up there; twenty-four hours should be more than enough to get things done. After all, he had his trusty Silver Bow, what threat could pose those creepy Underworld monsters? To be true, Dark Pit had never felt as free as he did at that moment in his entire existence, and the feeling overwhelmed him a little. But he'd never give it up for anything. "Time to wipe out bad guys!" he called out to the Heavens.

Soon, he set his foot in the gardens of Skyworld, amongst the dead picotees and peonies. It seemed like someone else had stepped on those before him… Oh well. No time for that.

Immediately, he was attacked by two Monoeyes, that he quickly took care of with one slash of his blade. When his eyes wandered around, his heart jumped up and his skin turned pale: everything was dark, almost like it was in his own dimension. The palace looked pale, its vivid golden roof barely even looked silver. Dark Pit took a look around, wondering if he wasn't back in his home world, only to find more Centurions on his way to the palace—all had been turned to statues, of course. "Nice decoration. I've gotta say, they have poor taste in design."

The angel hissed when he was attacked from behind by yet another Monoeye and, thanks to his sharp reflexes, he grasped the hilts of his Silver Bow's sword. Before the monster had time to attack again, Dark Pit had clicked them together and was aiming a shot at its eye. "Goodbye!" he snapped at it, and a fully charged purple arrow pierced right through the enemy. It exploded and turned into thin air, just like these illusions he kept having of Pit and himself back in the city of the Overworld. Leaving that thought aside, Dark Pit walked closer to the palace, already impatient to have a talk with Pit and his precious Goddess. He had several things to say to Palutena, for she got him to worry enough to ask for Hermes' services… He cringed when he caught a sight of a crowd of Monoeyes in the distance, closer to the castle. "This place's infested with these things," he muttered.

He dashed towards the enemies and made his way through the crowd with swift, precise cuts in their eye. In less than a minute, they were all gone and Dark Pit could catch his breath. "Where's your Goddess now, monsters?" he bragged, then he began walking towards the palace for what would be the last time. He was soon close enough to make out two very recognizable figures that stood in front of the doors of the palace: they guarded it, one having two swords in his hands, to which he held on tightly, and swinging them at the enemies, and the other pointing her staff towards an invisible, possibly taller threat already far away from Skyworld. They both stood still, staring at a common entity they had been fighting together amongst a horde of Komaytos…

"Pit! I'll give you a han—Wait…" Dark Pit gasped, choking on his words. His voice shattered within his throat, and his hands started to tremble—just like the rest of his body. He trailed his right hand to his chest to feel his insane heartbeats, the stone glowing in his clenched palm. He wanted to call them out once more, but he merely managed to pronounce another word before his voice completely died out. _Too late_ , he thought to himself, his eyes glued on what stood before him.

The two heroes were now buried under a coat of stone that turned Dark Pit's stomach.

* * *

 _To be continued…_

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 **Updated: 02/11/2019**


	12. Chapter 11: Breaking the mold

_**Hello again everyone! I hope you are doing amazingly well. I come with the new chapter of my fanfiction, which takes place after Dark Pit has found Pit and Palutena buried under stone. Hopefully you'll like it! You are in for a treat: an unexpected duo is going to form in order to try and save the two statues. But I'll tell no more, I'll let you discover it by yourselves.**_

 _ **Don't hesitate to leave a comment, I love reading them! It keeps me going :)**_

 _ **Enjoy,**_

 _ **Yours truly, Circle of J.**_

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 **Disclaimer: ****I do not own the characters from the Kid Icarus series. The deities mentioned are taken from Greek Mythology, remastered the way I imagine them. What I own, on the other hand, is the plot.**

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 **Kid Icarus: Heirs of the Light**

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 _Chapter 11: Breaking the mold_

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"Shh, boys! Pit needs us!"

Despite the gravity of the situation, Dark Pit approached Phos and Lux, in their respective stalls, and tried to calm them down. They had always been friendly and relaxed around the dark angel, but this time around something seemed to frighten them. He rested his hands on their muzzles, he gently rubbed them and whispered for them to soothe down. He told them that they were out of whatever danger had been invading the city of angels. "You're okay, I'm here now. Whatever caused chaos here has left," he assured them. "I'm here for Pit, he needs our help."

The two horses glanced at each other and turned back towards their dark master, trusting his every words. Soon, their anguish was left behind, for they were determined to save their imprisoned master. They had witnessed the events from afar; they had heard their master Pit screaming to the Centurions, telling them to step back, then they had also seen him step in front of Palutena and dividing his bow in two identical swords.

 _"I can take it, Lady Palutena!" he claimed, raising his right sword in the air to deflect an attack from the enemy. "I know I will beat her!"_

 _"Pit!" Palutena tried to warn him, but it was too late. A flash of light after, Pit fell to his knees; he had just been struck by lightning. He held a hand to his chest as he stood back up, on trembling legs. The Goddess of Light stepped forward, willing to check on his wound to see how badly it had been impacting her captain's body, but with an arm gesture, he demanded that she stayed behind him. "Pit, let me see!"_

 _"N-no, Lady-ngh… Paluten-ahhh!" he began screaming at the top of his lungs, and Lux's head jerked up. He started neighing at Palutena, agitated by the bloodcurdling sound of his master's shrill cry, but it was all too late: Pit collapsed to the ground once again, only to stand back up, claiming he was 'not finished'._

Unfortunately, although he had been brave and determined, their master hadn't had time to put up a fight against the invisible enemy that had attacked Skyworld; he had been struck with what seemed like lightning once more, and the next second he was crying out in agony. After that, nothing. He hadn't moved since then, still standing in front of the palace's front doors. Lux had been panicking ever since, whinnying his master's name, all in vain. Phos had tried to take down the door of the stall he was in, to no avail either. They were quite fortunate that the dark master had come to their rescue.

Many of the Centurions doubted that Dark Master Pit was on their side, but the two unicorns never hesitated to trust him. They could feel his sincere, genuine worry for their master, and that alone was enough for them to help him. The dark angel sure had an attitude, he couldn't keep his mouth shut, but Phos and Lux couldn't care any less with their master being a prisoner of his own body. All that they needed was to know their dark master was trying to reestablish justice and, thus, save the inhabitants of Skyworld. Lux neighed at Dark Pit, who cursed as he cut the restrains attached to the unicorn's muzzle. "Why do you have to be held like that? It's uncanny," he sighed.

After he had done so, their dark master looked at Lux, since he had the hardest time to calm down even with Dark Pit by his side. "Did you see what happened? Did you see it?" he inquired, not expecting an answer, however the unicorn frantically nodded and looked at Phos with wide, fearful eyes. The dark master furrowed his brows and he bit his lower lip. The two magical beings could clearly read pain and remorse in the angel's eyes.

"Was he in pain?" was all he asked them. This time, the two unicorns decided that it was better to leave the question unanswered. Seeing that he wouldn't get anything out of Pit's horses, Dark Pit unlocked the doors of the stalls and guided the two horses out and away from the stables. Even though he didn't exactly need the two magical unicorns to fly anymore, since he had been granted the Power of Flight literally twenty minutes prior at most, he wanted to take them along as he left Skyworld and headed to Viridi's deserted Sanctum.

He secretly hoped that he'd find Phosphora there, despite the fact that they didn't like each other that much… Amongst all of the commanders of the Forces of Nature, he was more fond of Cragalanche. After all, he was not much of a talker but rather a strong and experimented fighter. Exactly like Dark Pit—really, they were a match made in the Heavens. When they both met the day of the dark angel's admission, he had discovered a whole new definition of relating to someone.

Phos and Lux led the Lightning Chariot to Viridi's Sanctum, and Dark Pit had to gulp down his worry when he saw its current state; the tree looked and felt dead. What was once a gigantic weeping willow with wonderful green leaves and delightful scents was now… reduced to an empty trunk with dead, leafless branches hanging helplessly from it. As for its smell, it… terrified him: it reminded him that of a burnt forest, which he certainly didn't find reassuring. Fear filled the dark angel's red eyes, though he pushed it aside and pulled himself up in order to safely jump off the chariot. When his feet hit the ground, it started cracking, like old, dried out wood about to break.

As he had expected, it eventually crumbled, nearly sending Dark Pit to what would have been a deadly fall. Fortunately, he had seen it coming and lifted himself up with his newly operational wings. The angel moved further into the Sanctum, trying to see if there was any life in the tree at all. He didn't expect Viridi to be there, since… well, but maybe Phosphora was? He needed to try his luck.

Silently, stealthily, he climbed the stairs leading to Viridi's former office. He gently pushed the door opened, cringing when it creaked, and stepped inside. His heart sank when he realized that nothing had been moved, that everything had stayed in the same exact place. He was even surprised to find that letter to Arlon, that the Goddess had been writing prior to the attack. _"That's awfully intrusive to look at what a Goddess is writing to one of her commanders!"_ he could hear her say, his mind starting to wander off again. He snapped out of it before he started seeing the little Goddess of Nature walking around the room… he was fed up with illusions for the next centuries to come.

"Well, you can't exactly complain anymore, so let me take a look," he said, more to himself than anyone else since Viridi was gone now. He loomed over the desk and raised an eyebrow when he noticed a few stains on the paper, as though they had been tears. That only made him more curious on the matter. His red eyes followed the lines as he read the letter, more intrigued after each word; Viridi had such a strange way of expressing herself, even when she wrote to her commanders it seemed. She was so… bossy. Which somewhat made sense, but still, Dark Pit wasn't into that shit.

"Well, seems like you were not aware of what was to come," the dark angel concluded after he'd read the entire letter—which hadn't mentioned anything about a possible threat to the Forces of Nature. "Can't help but feel sorry for ya."

Looking now through Viridi's former diary, Dark Pit found the type of treats that delighted him to hear about: rumors. Here and there, the Goddess had talked about Pit, she had ranted about how much of an idiot he was, how oblivious and… dense he acted. But that wasn't all! She also had claimed that she caught Dark Pit 'daydreaming' about Pit kissing him again. He cringed at the memory.

 _"So, you're still longing for Pitty's lips, Pittoo?" Phosphora laughed, and Dark Pit rolled his eyes, breathing through the nose in order to refrain from letting his anger out on her. "Seems like this 'incident' keeps on happening!" she added cheerfully._

 _Of course, he glared at her and told her to shut up._

Dark Pit looked up when he heard the door creaking. It opened on none other than Arlon, who was probably wondering why Pit's precious Lightning Chariot was in the main hall when there didn't seem to be a sign of him. The man stared at him, puzzled, and wanted to ask about what Dark Pit was reading, however the dark angel only threw the diary at his face. "Read for yourself, you're in for a ride!" he snapped, before standing up and aiming to leave the room. He never talked with Arlon—too fond of big words that made no sense to him, too fond of… chatting as a whole. And also, he liked playing tricks, namely illusions. Dark Pit had just sworn to himself that he had enough of them, so obviously Arlon was the last person he wanted to meet.

Viridi's former commander darted a look at him and picked up the diary, that had fallen to the ground. This angel had always been a fury; nobody could get a hold of him. Not to mention his 'feelings' issue; he had a hard time expressing them most often. Arlon found it adorable at times, except when the little bird's frustration was laid out on him. "Young Master Dark Pit."

The angel stopped in his tracks, though the tension between them, from that single interaction, cranked up. "What do you want?"

"I have been made aware of the attack in Angel Land," Arlon said, before he put the diary on the desk very carefully and turned towards Dark Pit. Even though the angel turned his back to him, he could very well decipher his anger—directed at himself, mostly. Arlon would have expected to be the origin of this rage, of this contained fierceness, however it seemed like the bird's wrath was aimed at his own person. Although he couldn't help but worry for the angel, he didn't mention it. "Do you happen to know who the enemy was?"

"I wasn't there," Dark Pit growled, then he spun around to look right into Arlon's eyes. His ruby eyes were expressive enough for the former commander to know he was about to snap at him. "Do I _look_ like a fortune-teller?"

Arlon didn't reply, he simply challenged the young angel with a glance. Then a question came to his mind, the reason why he was there in the first place: "Do you happen to know why the Lightning Chariot, which belongs to Young Master P—"

"I know who the fuck it belongs to!" Dark Pit interrupted him, before he let out a sigh and rolled eyes. What a pest he was. Arlon really didn't like his attitude: always on edge, always threatening, always aggressive… Although he had never complained to Viridi about the matter, he didn't think any less and had even considered it a few times. Having to work alongside a… nuisance like Dark Pit was breathtaking in itself. The dark angel shook his head, pissed off, though that did not impress Arlon. "I can borrow it if I want to, for as long as I want to. I don't owe anything to anyone, got it?"

"What if Young Master Pit comes ba—"

"Statues don't run after Lightning Chariots, Arlon! Now get out of my sight!"

Arlon frowned at what he said, however he didn't reply and shrugged it off. So… Medusa had been the enemy of Skyworld, if he understood well. And she had managed to turn the Goddess of Light's little champion, Pit, into a statue… For a second, he wondered if Palutena had met the same miserable fate, but Dark Pit's groan made him look up. One day, this angel was going to get himself killed with the constant tension accumulating in his body. He could never understand Dark Pit, no matter if he tried to or not, he knew it; he rarely felt any anger towards anything, hence his title: 'The Serene'.

When met with Arlon's silence, Dark Pit clicked his tongue. "Okay, you're not going? Then I am!" After he said that, the dark angel turned his back and stormed out of Viridi's former office. He took great care of slamming the door behind him, to deter the ex-commander of the fallen Forces of Nature from following him, and rushed to the Lightning Chariot.

If Phosphora wasn't there, he had no reason to stay.

Thus, he whipped the unicorns and headed to the Overworld, where he hoped he would find Magnus in spite of how late it was. Even though the human could nothing for him, since he would be of no help in saving Pit, he could come with him and keep him company. There was enough room for two in the Lightning Chariot. Dark Pit had grown seriously sick of being alone all the time. In his dimension, he cherished his loneliness, he loved to bits the few moments of calm that he managed to find, but in this setting, things were different. With Pit buried under stone, he felt awfully strange and empty, and he believed Magnus' company would carry a bit of Pit's essence and, perhaps, make him feel alive again—at least a little more than right now. After all, the two of them were also friends, weren't they? Spending time with the human could… bring back good memories to the surface, very dear to the dark angel.

However, it could also trigger painful memories, of a time where his jealousy was killing him from within.

 _"I'm going to spend a day with Magnus!" Pit said, all pumped up, but the news didn't exactly please his darker counterpart. While Pit was bouncing in place, already excited at the idea of his day off on the Overworld, Dark Pit groaned under his breath and looked away from him. Why did he never spend a day with him instead, hm? Why was it always this Magnus that he shared his time with? Dark Pit sighed at the thought that Pit could have feelings for that human he kept talking about all the time._

 _Pit looked at his twin and embraced him out of the blue, which he didn't appreciate. Dark Pit pushed him off of him, a bit more roughly than he'd have hoped, and rolled his eyes. "Why even hug me when you chose to leave instead of spending time with me, Pit-stain?!" he snapped at Pit, without glancing at him. He'd rather keep him from seeing the hurt in his eyes; wanting him to stay and saying it aloud was degrading enough. "Your precious human, Magnus, he must be just_ dying _to see you!"_

 _The light angel's eyes lit up with curiosity. "Could it be that you're jealous, Pittoo?"_

 _Dark Pit turned to him and swore that he was about to punch him. "Don't call me that. Fuck off."_

The dark angel sighed. He had always felt jealous when it came to Magnus, as he had succeeded to show it when they lived together on the Overworld, fighting for Pit's attention. There was just something about the way Pit talked about the human that made him want to strangle him. That… affection, the softness in his voice, the joy in his eyes… All that combined, all there to torture the dark angel despite what he'd show. He'd just wear his usual bored look, when in reality he could imagine his hands squeezing Pit's throat until he'd stop talking. His eyes would look stern, when deep inside they would be glowing with rage. Dark Pit didn't know how he had managed to keep his feelings from showing for such a long time. No wonder he felt frustrated now! They had probably been piling up in his heart until he couldn't bear them anymore.

Dark Pit shook his head and jumped off of the Lightning Chariot, quickly patting the two unicorns on the muzzle. Lux neighed at his dark master, and stomped on the ground. "Yes, I know. I won't be gone for long," Dark Pit promised him. The two unicorns had been clever when they chose the place to land, and had hidden in the forest—close to where Pit and Magnus had settled the fire pit. The dark angel braced himself, holding onto the necklace he still had tied to his wrist to find the strength he needed to walk out there. He hoped he wouldn't have another flashback. He was sick of them, they were… painful to watch. Now that he had seen his lighter twin engraved in stone, he couldn't shake the memory out of him, and every time he witnessed one of these flashbacks, he could see Pit's frozen, gray face as he stared at him. He really, sincerely hated it.

Dark Pit took a peek at the unicorns when Phos whinnied to call him back. They were scared of being left alone in the middle of the woods… even more so when it was dark outside. The angel smiled to himself; they were so sweet. He'd never admit it, but he was quite fond of them—mostly because they belonged to Pit, and everything Pit owned and loved was beyond perfect in his ruby eyes. "Shh, boys, you're fine. Nobody will find you here, don't be scared. I'll be back soon with a guest."

He flapped his wings, eyes still glued to the two unicorns, before he looked off and flew up in the sky to watch the city from above. He then dived towards Magnus' house once he had located the street it was in. He knew exactly where it was since… once, he had followed Pit up to it. For the light angel's safety only— _not_ because he was jealous.

 _Dark Pit hid behind a pillar and observed Pit as he stepped a little closer to his human friend. Magnus had shown him around the town during the afternoon, much to the dark angel's dismay since he had to watch it all, and ended up walking him to where he claimed to live. It was a calm street, with close to no human outside after sunset. Magnus had pointed towards a small house in the corner of the street and invited Pit in, with him._

 _Pit beamed at the idea, clasping his hands, and nodded. He was excited to visit his friend's lair, visibly, but Dark Pit didn't buy it. He just knew something was up; Magnus wouldn't bring him to his house if it wasn't for… purposes that the dark angel refused to think about. Once the two were inside, Dark Pit walked up to the closed door and stared at it with a suspicious look in his ruby eyes. He crossed his arms against his chest and decided to simply sit outside, leaning on the wall, until Pit came out. That way, maybe he'd tell him what had happened. The dark angel could also bust the door open. Oh, that'd be fun, but he knew he wouldn't hear the end of it from Pit if he did. He shook his head; he was supposed to be the dominant one, dammit! Why did he care about Pit being mad?_

 _Who fucking cared about Pit being pissed off?_

 _Nonetheless, he opted for waiting outside._

Dark Pit snarled and shook his head, trying to come back to reality. Those visions, they never stopped, did they? How unnerving… He clenched his fists and rushed towards Magnus' door, attempting to knock at it gently. Oh, he would've slammed his fists on it, but he didn't feel like doing much effort, to be true. After all, It was very unlikely that the human would be there, since he was often out hunting Underworld forces lurking around the edges of the city during the night—mainly in the forest—but it was worth trying. Soon enough, freeing him from the torment of his thoughts, Magnus opened the door and blinked in disbelief. "Dark angel face? How—"

"How's not the question to ask someone coming to your door so late at night, but rather _why_!" Dark Pit snapped at him, arms crossed, then he shook his head and breathed in slowly.

"I didn't know I told you where I lived," Magnus explained himself, rubbing his arm that was wrapped in bandages. He hadn't expected the dark angel to pay him a visit… He tried to recall when he could've talked about where he lived to the angel, but he just couldn't figure it out. Did Dark Pit follow him? Or maybe Pit had told him?

Once Dark Pit felt a little better—less angry at the very least, he looked back at the human who hadn't moved from the door, puzzled. He gritted his teeth but refrained from letting his feelings take over once again; he had enough of screaming at people's faces. When he did, they called him the 'mean guy'. The dark angel snorted; well, if they were less stupid and more reactive, perhaps he wouldn't need to push them. He looked back at Magnus and couldn't help but rage when he saw that the human was still staring at him. "Will you let me in?!"

"Uh—yeah, sorry." Magnus stepped back and allowed the darker version of his friend to walk in. Dark Pit went straight for the couch, sitting on it without looking at the human. He was busy thinking about how to word what had happened, how he could explain the situation, how he would handle telling Magnus about Pit's death, so he had no time to waste eyeing at the mortal. Magnus closed the door, which creaked because it was old and rusty, and Dark Pit hissed at the sound, nearly springing on his feet to hit something. "Heh… It needs to be replaced, don't mind it."

"I mind if I want to!" Dark Pit yelled at the human's face, before he focused on his breathing again. Effective method, he didn't know better to repress his urges for violence. "Anyways… I'm calm now. So, I suppose you must be wondering why I came here, since _how_ absolutely doesn't matter to _anyone_!"

Magnus nodded quietly. He understood immediately that replying would be a very bad idea. It seemed to him that the angel wanted to talk, but not have a conversation. Fine by him. Dark Pit raised his head after a moment and glanced at the human, who was standing next to the door and waited for him to give him a heads up on the context behind his visit. The dark angel looked down at the floor, thought about it, and finally spit it out: "Pit is dead."

The human turned pale. "You're kidding?"

"Does it look like I'm in the mood for jokes?!" Dark Pit snapped, but this time he didn't care about calming down. Instead, he stood up and walked up to Magnus, eyes sweating with heavy, burning tears. "He's dead, Magnus! I saw his… statue with my own two eyes."

"Statue, you say?"

"Do you not hear me when I speak?!"

Magnus lowered his head and closed his eyes. Being yelled at early in the morning wasn't exactly something he was used to, he really had to focus in order not to lose it and punch the dark angel right on the spot. He was just in distress, which he totally understood considering he had witnessed the death of his beloved angel… Magnus still couldn't believe his ears; Pit was dead… He was such a brave little guy, so full of life, always so cheerful and nice… And he… had been turned into a statue? But how? Was it even possible? Maybe to Gods, it was… Magnus tried to think about the attack that occurred so many years ago on the Overworld. He wasn't even born when that happened, but he learnt about it at school. There had been a conflict between Palutena and her sister, who was… "Medusa," he whispered, echoing to his thoughts. She was the one who could turn people into stone, like she had done to his city at the time.

Dark Pit stared at him for a moment before it all clicked in his mind. He clenched his fists and his wings stretched to express his fury. "She's gone too far this time! Turning _my_ —Pit into a statue?! Who does she think she's dealing with?!"

"When did it happen?" Magnus asked him.

"Earlier tonight," Dark Pit answered, two tones lower since the question had calmed him down. Then, he turned away from the human and went back to the couch, where he had left his Silver Bow unattended. How could he have thought that something would steal it, hm? They were inside a house, which belonged to a human, how could he possibly have thought that something would sneak inside and take his weapon? He couldn't have, indeed. Thus, he couldn't hold a gasp when he caught sight of a Monoeye flying away in the sky with his precious weapon over its head. "Hey! Come back, you piece of—"

"Now now, no cursing! Those words don't belong in an angel's mouth!" Magnus interrupted him with a hand placed over his mouth, while he held his friend by the arm in order to prevent him from flying after the monster. Dark Pit still cursed against his palm, wiggled around to break free from Magnus' hold, but nothing could help it: he was just way too strong for the angel. The human stared at the Monoeye as it disappeared amongst the clouds, and finally let go of the darker version of Pit. "No need to get killed over a bow."

Dark Pit laughed humorlessly. "You think this scum could've killed me?"

Magnus shrugged. "I don't know, and I don't want to find out with your corpse in my arms," he said frankly. They would have time to grab another weapon for the angel, there were a few shops dedicated to crafting weaponry in the city. For now, he wanted to know what exactly had happened in the land of angels. Magnus sat down on his couch, listening to Dark Pit complaining about his missing bow and how the creature 'didn't take your sword for some reason!', before he darted a look at him. "You still need to tell me about what happened to Pit and his Goddess Palutena."

"I don't need to do anything, I just do things out of pity," Dark Pit groaned, before he sighed and complied. "I was talking to the Goddess Aphrodite and she told me about the necklace. So naturally, I went to look for it, and that's when I started having more of those… flashbacks."

"Flashbacks?" Magnus blinked, confused. "You see the past?"

The dark angel nodded. The look in his eyes let the human know how much of a burden that was to him, but Dark Pit didn't give him more time to ask questions about this newfound ability. The lesser he mentioned it, the lesser those visions would come back, right? It was worth a try, at this point he had nothing to lose anymore. The angel turned his head to observe Magnus, standing right next to the window through which the Monoeye had escaped with his weapon. "I _saw_ the past—hopefully," the angel laughed nervously, and it was visible that he wanted to hit something after he said that.

The human looked around, and grabbed a pillow from the couch he was sitting on. "Here, you can take that pillow," Magnus smiled. As soon as Dark Pit caught the pillow he had tossed at him, he immediately starting digging his nails into it to take out his intense frustration. Magnus nodded at the sight. "Destroy it, give it all you got."

Dark Pit sighed, relieved, and looked back at the human with a somewhat grateful smile on the lips. "Yeah… So. Anyways. I took the decision to go back to Skyworld to talk to Pit, but then his Goddess started panicking. The sky went black and boom, she was gone, she stopped talking. At first I was delighted by that, because I don't like her at all, but then I felt like something was wrong… in my chest, mainly, but then it extended to my whole body, even… my personality."

Magnus vigorously nodded. "I notice you're much more snappy, indeed."

"Anyhow, I had to call out Hermes as a last resort and sacrificed that favor he still had to grant me." Dark Pit clicked his tongue when he mentioned it. "Just imagine all the things I could've asked! Nah, actually: don't! Why, I had to use it to _rescue_ Palutena and her little hero of course! Because that's definitely what I wanted!"

"You know it was."

"Shut up. Well—even then, I was too late!" Dark Pit started again, his eyes glistening with rage.

"Problematic," Magnus simply said.

"Mhm, indeed, they're standing still next to their palace now!" the dark angel growled. "I had things to say to that idiot, but no! He had to get himself killed!"

"And what was it you wanted to tell him?"

Dark Pit's wings jerked up, and the angel glared at him straight in the eyes. Magnus braced himself, because he could already tell he would be greeted with one of the angel's snaps again. "It starts with: 'none of your business'," Dark Pit spat, as the human had expected, then his nails dug deeper in the pillow he held close to him. "And it ends with: 'my fist in your face if you dare to ask about it again'."

"Highly threatening." Magnus stared right at the dark angel, unimpressed, and walked closer to him. Even with the pillow he was crushing, he didn't seem to calm down—the human started to understand why, but he'd refrain from saying it since he didn't wish to be torn to shreds. _He wanted to tell Pit that he loves him, how cute_ , he thought anyways, a smile spreading on his lips—the dark angel narrowed his eyes when he saw it. The amount of hatred that Magnus could feel emanating from Dark Pit was greater than it'd ever been in the past. Perhaps, in addition to his 'feelings' issue for Pit, he didn't accept the fact that he had to call out to that other God he mentioned—was it Hermes?—and thus acted like a douche. After all, Dark Pit was a proud little thing; having to rely on someone wasn't something he enjoyed very much.

Magnus took the gloomy angel in his arms, hugging him lightly since he didn't want to accidentally break him in half. "Let's not talk about it then. I really think you should calm down, your body can't handle that much pressure."

"What in the Underworld are you talking about?! How am I supposed to—"

"Hot spring trip?" Magnus suggested and, by the look in the angel's eyes, he already knew that he had won.

Dark Pit huffed and looked off to the side. He'd never admit that he was thrilled by the idea, _never_! Hot springs, that was Pit's thing, _not_ his'! He narrowed his eyes, trying to sound grumpy when he said: "I'm not Pit! I'm not _that_ fond of hot springs!" But despite his efforts, Magnus could still perceive the light glimmer in those red eyes.

"Come on, dark angel face. You know you want it."

The dark angel shook his head vehemently, though he eventually sighed and pushed the human off of him. Dark Pit turned his back to him, so that he couldn't see the smile that spread across his lips. Yes, he really wanted to bathe in a hot spring, it would help him… relax and forget about his life for a moment. He bit his lower lip and added: "Though I wouldn't mind a good soak—but certainly _not_ because I like them!"

Magnus smiled widely at the answer; just the one he had expected. "Right, not getting any wrong ideas then."

"You just _had_ to add that, didn't you?"

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 _To be continued…_

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 **Updated: 02/11/2019**


	13. Chapter 12: Rivalry

_**Hello my dear readers! How are you all doing? As you may have noticed, I changed the title of this fiction into something that suited me more. The previous one was alright, I guess, but this one is a lot more representative of the story as a whole. So, yeah, I figured it should be better! Here is the next chapter of our adventure! More complications for our heroes! Makes you wonder how they will be able to work things out… Anyways, I won't say anything more!**_

 _ **Enjoy! Don't forget to leave a little review, always a delight for me ;)**_

 _ **Yours truly, Circle of J.**_

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 **Disclaimer: ****I do not own the characters from the Kid Icarus series. The deities mentioned are taken from Greek Mythology, remastered the way I imagine them. What I own, on the other hand, is the plot.**

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 **Kid Icarus: Heirs of the Light**

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 _Chapter 12: Rivalry_

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"I told you to hold onto Lux, what's so fucking difficult to understand?!" Dark Pit snapped at Magnus once they set foot in Skyworld. The Lightning Chariot had literally just been stopped by its new master, and the angel immediately had to jump down in order to catch a fainting human about to crack his head open on the pavement. He had not listened to what Dark Pit had told him, which was to hold onto the unicorn and close his eyes. Was it complicated, really? Why did nobody ever listen to him?

"Lux is the unicorn there!" Dark Pit screamed in his ears again as he pointed to the unicorn still attached to the Lightning Chariot, tapping his foot on the ground next to Magnus' head. The human moaned in pain, his angry voice echoing in his rather foggy brain. "And I recall I told you to hold onto the unicorn! What in the Underworld were you doing looking down?! Now don't count on me to pick you up, maybe that'll teach you something!"

Magnus frowned and tried to ignore his headache. However, he noticed just how thick the air around him really was, he had trouble breathing in. He coughed, feeling his lungs about to give out since they lacked air, and Dark Pit growled under his breath. The angel knelt down next to Magnus, lifted his head and detached the necklace he had around his wrist. Maybe that would do the trick, since it was a magical artifact. They didn't exactly know how much it could do… but anything was worth trying, since he was out of options anyways.

Dark Pit tied the chain to make sure it would not fall off and passed the necklace around the human's head. When it was finally in place, worn just like any necklace should be worn, the dark angel sighed and gently, cautiously lied the head of the almost unconscious human on the pavement. "Should've known. Humans are weak. Now, are you still dying?"

Magnus gasped for air, finally able to inhale it. The burning sensation in his lungs slowly dissipated. When he felt a little better, his eyes fluttered open, meeting those red of the dark angel on top of him. To be honest, he had no idea where he was. Was he laying on the ground? How did he get on the ground? Wait… Ground? Where were they? Was this the land of angels? There was a… ground in the middle of the sky? How random… Magnus blinked, confused, for all that he saw were yellow clouds and the bright blue sky above his head. Well, that was unexpected… But it fitted its name—maybe, since he had not seen any angel yet, with the exception of the grumpy one staring at him.

"Looks like the necklace thing worked, somehow," Dark Pit groaned.

"Necklace?" Magnus asked, puzzled, then he saw the familiar light blue glow of Pit's necklace around his neck. He tried to raise a hand to touch it, but his body was still a little too weak. So he rested against the cold ground beneath him, which was probably made out of tiling, and focused on his breathing.

Dark Pit only snorted. "It's still glowing even though Pit's dead. Maybe it carries a bit of him, after all. Not the craziest thing that happened so far, if you want my opinion."

"No one asked for your opinion."

The dark angel laughed out loud, which was unprecedented, and Magnus frowned at him. Dark Pit wore his usual bored look and had his hands on his hips. Magnus couldn't help but notice just how feminine he looked when he did that. The angel was leaning above him and raising an eyebrow. The human couldn't tell if he was annoyed or if he acted like this naturally, however that was the least of his worries at the moment. "So Angel Land or whatever is just clouds?"

"Say, you do realize you're just looking at the sky. Right?" Dark Pit sighed, rolling his eyes, and when he caught Magnus' confused glance he pulled him by the arm. Even though the human was heavier than he'd have thought, he managed to help him up in a sitting position. " _That_ 's Skyworld!" he said, pointing his finger to it.

The human blinked twice to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. There was a huge palace floating in the air… in the middle of the clouds… above his world… Was it magic? How could all those isles fly on their own? Because there sure was many of them, and even that was an understatement. The biggest floating islands, all rather close to the palace, supported strange buildings that looked somewhat similar to the temples that they, humans, dedicated to the Gods on the surface below. As for the landscape in general, what was the most striking was the grass and its deep, vivid green color, along with the trees that were, in his view, absolutely majestic, with their multiple layers of greenish leaves dancing thanks to the light wind brushing against them.

However, there was also this strange, worrying lack of life—aside from the natural elements surrounding them. No Centurion—or however Pit had called them during the Chaos Ring episode—had yet come to check on the newcomer, no angel was soaring through the sky to watch over the intruder, no… nobody.

Well, of course, there was Dark Pit, but… he was a special case, since apparently he didn't live there. Or that was what he kept saying, at least.

Magnus collected himself and stood on his own two feet, despite his dizziness along with his heaving stomach. The ride, it had been wild… He wasn't used to such speed, and was convinced that his body wasn't meant to endure it. Horses on the surface weren't that fast, and honestly the human was grateful for that. His body felt as if it had been stepped on by hundreds of horses! Though he had to admit, he had fun hearing the dark angel curse and scream at him during the whole flight. For that reason alone, he'd do it all again in if he could. "So that's Pit's world."

"It's actually _Palutena_ 's, Pit just so happens to be homeless so he squats here," Dark Pit insisted, narrowing his eyes at the mortal. Needless to say, he was still upset.

"Are you not homeless as well?" Magnus asked, smirking.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, you said something?" Dark Pit's eyes glimmered dangerously, however he chose not to reply. He refused to snap again over such a stupid remark. Instead, he darted a look towards the palace that they could see farther in the distance. "Anyways, we'll head for that castle over there."

Magnus gazed at it, fascinated by its beauty. "I assume that's Pit's castle."

" _Palutena_ 's!" Dark Pit groaned, though he gave up on explaining things to the human and pulled him by the arm. He briefly turned around and waved at the two unicorns, who followed them along with their chariot that they seemed to carry everywhere they went. The dark angel lifted Magnus from the ground to hover over a few gaps between the different floating isles, since he wasn't sure that the human could jump that far—humans were feeble creatures, who knew how well they could handle the high pressure of the air and how their body would react? Even though he wore the necklace and that seemed to make the changes bearable, he didn't wish to fly after a falling human at the moment. _Better play it safe._

Dark Pit led Magnus to the court of the castle, which was surrounded by huge trees casting a shadow. The human found it very welcome, due to the excessive heat when exposed to the sun. He followed the steps of his angelic guide, whom was looking around to see if anything had changed. Daylight changed his entire perspective; maybe it was less dark than it had seemed during the night. The trees were healthy despite the Goddess of Light being captive of her own body, and the birds didn't stop wandering around the area. It was as if nothing had happened.

Dark Pit couldn't help but feel desperately lonely as he walked along the paved path beneath his feet. He used to sit down at this bench, the one that he stared at, and read for hours along, under the shadow of the huge pine tree that had, unfortunately, been cut down long ago. When he did that, Pit would always come up to him, ask him to read aloud so that he could listen to the story, but he never would listen. Instead of that, he'd look at Dark Pit with those weirdly shining eyes, as though he was looking directly at a piece of art. The dark angel frowned at the thought, since he had never really noticed that detail in the past… However now, it seemed so obvious.

Tormented by his own feelings, by his intense loneliness highlighted by Pit's suffocating absence, Dark Pit looked to the side and held back his tears. He soon plunged in his memories, when his ruby eyes met that bench he hated so deeply. _His_ voice rang in his ears, momentarily deafening him from all that surrounded him—including a worried Magnus who kept asking him if he was alright.

 _"Keep reading, Pittoo!"_

"No, you're not real…" Dark Pit sighed, before his body was shaken by a sob he had tried so hard to contain.

 _"If you'd shut up for once, I could keep reading, Pit-stain!"_

The dark angel looked up at his former self, sitting on the bench, and clenched his fists. "Don't you dare talk to him like that!"

 _Pit looked at Dark Pit in awe as he resumed to reading the lines under his eyes. He didn't understand how he did it, how he managed to get meaning out of simple letters, but it fascinated him beyond what he could express. He leaned in to look over Dark Pit's shoulder, resting a hand on it, and closed his eyes to focus on his twin's deep, mellifluous voice. Every syllable sounded like it was taken directly from a song. Pit chuckled when Dark Pit read a funny line, and that made his darker twin raise his head and look back at him. "You, understanding humor? Today's my lucky day."_

 _"It's funny when you say it," Pit said, his cheeks flashing red, then he looked off and saw Palutena at the palace's doors. "Lady Palutena!"_

 _"Come here, Pit!"_

 _His wings fluttered up and he jumped to his feet, leaving Dark Pit cold, alone, with his meaningless book in his hands. He gazed at his lighter half running away from him; so far from reach, yet so close to his heart._

Dark Pit shook his head and closed his eyes, a silent tear running along his left cheek. He hoped that this had been a nightmare and he would wake up. He had just seen them there, on the bench, they were there a second ago: the illusions. It had sent shivers down his spine. He gulped and turned around to look at Magnus, who seemed puzzled by his sudden stop—and even more when he realized that the gloomy, usually unexpressive Dark Pit was crying. The angel opened his mouth, willing to tell him that he had seen them, the shadows, but he huffed and went back to walking in silence.

Magnus was just about to ask him what had happened when the angel glared at him dangerously. "Don't mention it and pretend that you've never seen anything." Perhaps it was best to keep them for himself, maybe they'd vanish if he didn't pay attention to them. He needed to make sure that, the next time that happened, he didn't stop everything else he was doing to look at them. Quite the opposite, he ought to focus on something else for them to disappear. How he missed his old life, where none of those things tormented him day and night…

Magnus' voice interrupted his train of thoughts. "Since we're in this together, I can call you Pittoo, right?"

"Only if I can punch you every time you say it," Dark Pit snarled, gritting his teeth. "In other words: don't think about it."

The human's only answer was a nod, then silence crept between them again. Magnus wanted to know what had happened on that bench, who the dark angel had talked to, but at the same time he didn't want him to snap again. So instead of that, he followed him without speaking a word, which Dark Pit seemed content with. They soon reached the gigantic doors of Palutena's palace and, much to Dark Pit's horror, the two statues were still there, still frozen in time. The two men walked closer to them, Dark Pit focusing his attention on Pit whereas the human was more intrigued by the Goddess—considering he had never seen one before, it made sense to the angel who just shrugged it off. Magnus looked at Palutena closely, examined her from every possible angle, before he turned to face Dark Pit, who had his hand cupped around Pit's cheek and had lost himself in his dead, still eyes. "Don't get all depressed, dark angel."

"Will you shut up?!"

Magnus didn't reply, more focused on his surroundings. The scene was bizarre to him; they were staring at statues carved around real, living beings, who had close relatives, friends, duties… Yet they stood there, as if time had stopped for them though everything around them kept on with their daily routines. It was both frightening and breathtaking, how Life continued its cycle even when people were missing, even when people were dead and buried under coats of stone. Magnus couldn't help but admire the world around him, mainly the statues. They were testimonies of two lives that had been frozen abruptly, though all around Nature had already moved on. The striking contrast between the white, tall walls of the castle, its golden roofs, the grass—ever so green and vibrant all around it, and the two, lifeless statues made of gray stone… It really mesmerized him.

Dark Pit spun around to look at him when Magnus walked towards Phos and Lux. He caressed their muzzles, seemingly both sad and amazed. How could he feel both at the same time? No clue. The angel frowned, wondering what was up with him, but decided it was best not to ask and, instead, focus on Pit. He was so strange like this, Dark Pit loathed it. He was so… stiff. When he usually ran around and hugged everyone in his path, there he was just… hideous. Horrifying, monstrous. His face was an abomination. His eyes, though, were the true horror, the real affront; so lifeless, so empty, so… gray. Dark Pit longed for their intense blue, for their shine and glisten, for their… natural beauty.

The human's voice interrupted his thoughts again—he honestly was grateful for that. "Dark angel, I think we have trouble up ahead."

Dark Pit quickly turned around and gasped when he saw hordes of Monoeyes and Komaytos heading for Skyworld. "Now that's perfect!" he snapped, shaking his head in desperation. "Everything to ruin my day!" Somehow, he thought that he should've expected it: the Underworld forces knew they were there—they had seen and fought Dark Pit on those same grounds the night before—and wanted to finish the job. So that meant that Medusa was with them, no matter if she made herself visible or not. The angel huffed and jumped to his feet, rushing towards Magnus and pulling him by the wrist as he ran by him. He forced him to jump in the Lightning Chariot, however it was a little too high up for the human to make it, with the weakness of his body. He hadn't yet fully adapted to the change in the composition of the air around them, even though the necklace helped him a little. His movements were still reduced, and so were his reflexes.

"Dark angel, I could use your help," Magnus admitted, ashamed of his poor physical condition.

"Help yourself!" Dark Pit cursed at his bad luck once more and eyed at the Monoeyes that were a few meters away from them. "I'll hold them back." He breathed in through the nose, concentrated, and clenched his fists when they came too close. He punched and kicked the creatures of the Underworld, sending them back with the strength he had put in his hits. "No way! You're not killing anyone today!" he screamed at them, before his eyes landed on a bigger, much more menacing figure in the distance. _She_ was closing in.

"Dark Pit! What a delight to see you here," she began, laughing at the situation. "You brought a friend from the Overworld, such a treat!"

Magnus looked at his angel friend, surprised to even hear the Goddess talking, and Dark Pit clicked his tongue. "Probably the stone. Hop in!"

"So you came to admire my masterpieces?" Medusa inquired, question to which Dark Pit groaned. "Aww, you don't like them?"

"I call them trash."

"Oh, but I think they look faithful to the originals!" the Goddess of Darkness laughed.

The dark angel finally resigned to helping the human in the Lightning Chariot, since he couldn't 'do anything by yourself anyways', and spun around to watch as Medusa was drawing ever so closer to him. He jumped in the chariot as well, a look of concern in his ruby eyes—an emotion that Magnus had rarely seen on his face—and whipped the unicorns. "Phos, Lux, let's go!" he said without glancing away from the Queen of the Underworld.

"Oh no, I don't think so! You're not running away from me again, Dark Pit!" Medusa laughed harder and her hand landed barely an inch away from the unicorns. The two magical horses stepped back, neighing in fear, and the Goddess stood before the human and the dark angel she desired.

Dark Pit gulped and tried to reassure the unicorns; all in vain since Medusa was standing so close to them. Even Pit couldn't have soothed them, he was sure of it. The dark angel clicked his tongue and watched in horror as the Goddess of Darkness knelt down in front of them and leaned over them, gazing at them with a certain degree of amusement. Magnus, who had brought his sword following Dark Pit's advice, grasped its hilt and was ready to swing it at her, but Dark Pit's wide eyes led him to understand that something wasn't right. He thus looked at the dark angel, worried. The angel furrowed his brows and held onto the horses' halter. "Don't panic, Dark Pit. No panic."

"No, why would you panic?" Medusa chuckled, staring at that dark angel she admired so much. "I've come to claim what's mine: you."

"I've never been affiliated with the Underworld army."

The Goddess narrowed her eyes, slightly more intimidating, and kept on sneering like the creep that she was. "No, but you were _created_ for it. You were meant to serve me and Hades. Just because you managed to slip away from our hands once doesn't mean you can't be ours again, like you were always supposed to be."

"Created, you say?" Dark Pit snorted, much to Medusa's confusion. He wanted to tell her just how wrong she was, but he saw an opening and decided he couldn't waste their only chance of making it out alive. Thus taking advantage of her disarray, the dark angel whipped the unicorns and the Lightning Chariot sped off towards Viridi's Sanctum—a safe haven where Underworld baddies wouldn't come to bother them. As they flew off of Skyworld, they could distinctively hear Medusa screaming at them, swearing that she would get him no matter where he wished to hide. Dark Pit shook his head, exasperated, and looked over to Magnus, who had a smile across the lips. "Sorry it took so long, had to figure out something."

"We're alive, that's what matters. Though I don't really care if you make it out or not."

Hearing those words, Dark Pit smiled with something akin to sincerity. He was about to answer when the sky turned black above them. The angel frowned and told the two unicorns to go faster, but that was before he was struck by lightning. He screeched at the sudden pain that travelled through his entire body; it had hit the side of his face, burning off the skin of his left cheek. Magnus told him to let him take a look, but Dark Pit refused and begged for the horses to hurry to Viridi's Sanctum. The human quickly grabbed onto the unicorn before him—Lux, he believed—as the Chariot moved at the speed of light, no less. It took them no time to be at what Dark Pit called the Sanctum, which was nothing more than an old tree that had died a while ago, by the looks of things. The two unicorns stopped once they reached the main hall of the Sanctum, and Dark Pit leapt out, falling face first on the wooden ground beneath him.

Magnus pulled himself out of the Lightning Chariot, stroke the muzzles of the two unicorns that he started to like somehow, and walked up to the angel. The latter had a hard time getting up. "Need a hand?"

"I'm fine," Dark Pit assured, then he stood up. His struck cheek bore strange, purple scars that looked like veins… They started from his ear and expanded to half of his cheek before slowly fading into nothing. The angel clicked his tongue and ran a hand over his wound, wincing at the pain. However, when he caught Magnus' eyes on him, he decided to play it off as though he didn't feel a thing. He stood straight and frowned, though it was obvious that he was rather satisfied with the outcome of their retreat. "Great, that's where I wanted to come anyways."

"You said this was Viridi's Sanctum," Magnus started, puzzled, then he looked all around him. "Really just seems like a tree to me."

Dark Pit nodded, a hand on his hip as he said in a know-it-all sort of tone: "That's the gist. She was the Goddess of Nature, so. Yeah. Trees."

The human frowned but didn't add anything, following the dark angel when he started going up the stairs in front of them. They led to a door carved into the wood of the huge weeping willow they stood in, and he found it rather intriguing despite being weirded out by the situation. Strange choice for a Goddess to live in a tree… Even for the Goddess of Nature, it seemed rather… humble—which wasn't a bad thing, just surprising coming from a Goddess who thought she was better than everyone. Pit had often told him that Viridi thought that she was the best out of all the Gods, so… _Really_ strange choice.

Dark Pit pushed open the door and it revealed a room behind it, furnished with a desk and a wooden chair. What seemed to interest the angel, however, wasn't one of the few letters and books that were scattered all over the messy desk, but rather a bow. It didn't look finished, it missed strings to shoot arrows with, and also ammunition. But other than that, it was in very good condition, as though it had just been made.

Once he had added strings to the weapon—which really just looked like hyper resistant spider webs, the dark angel turned towards Magnus and aimed the bow at his head. Even though the weapon had no arrow in it, the human quickly took a step back and raised his hands up in the air to surrender. He had seen Pit and his bow… Arrows could just appear out of the blue and pierce through anything, and he didn't want to experience that for himself. Dark Pit snorted and lowered the weapon. "You really thought I'd shoot you, didn't you?"

"We never know with you…"

"That's probably the nicest thing you've said today," the angel scoffed.

He then looked at the bow he was holding, examining it thoroughly. It was visible that he had never used it, he didn't quite understand how to trigger it. Realization lit his ruby eyes and Dark Pit turned towards a painting on the wall. He used the bow sideways, when it should have been vertically aimed… But maybe that was how this thing worked, after all. As Magnus had expected, an arrow materialized out of thin air. It was purple and looked like a lightning bolt ready to be fired, sparkling against the pale skin of Dark Pit's fingers. When he shot it, it hit its target, creating a hole in the painting, and sparkles ran over the entire piece until it caught fire.

The dark angel walked up to the painting and took out the fire with some water still contained in an abandoned bottle, sitting on the desk. Magnus was about to ask how he had gotten the painting to burn in the first place when the angel felt like bragging about it anyways: "Electrical damage. Pit's arrows don't generate such effects, only mine do."

Magnus asked, frowning: "How come? Can you add effects to an arrow that doesn't exist?"

"What would you say?" Dark Pit replied, looking at him with a smirk across the lips. Then he folded his arms, amused, and observed the bow he had left on the desk with growing curiosity. Seeing that Magnus wouldn't answer his question, he walked up to the weapon and attached it to his belt. Dark Pit then invited the human to walk out of the room, saying that there was still something he wanted to retrieve before leaving. Magnus nodded and the angel led him to another door, to the right, once they had reached the main hall. He forced it open, since it had been locked for security purposes, and the human gasped at the amount of weapons that were stored in the room.

Dark Pit narrowed his eyes, looking for something specific, while Magnus walked around the room, amazed by each and every weapon that met his eyes. There were several types of different weapons, if he could trust his experience in recognizing them: cannons, bows, weird glove things with straps attached to them… How did they even use these things? Were they meant to be weapons? He thought of asking Dark Pit, but the latter had already caught his glance on the gloves and he smirked. "These are called palms. They basically stick to your skin and give you an ability, such as controlling fire, etc."

"Sounds good," Magnus reacted, impatient at the idea of trying out one of these for himself.

The dark angel's eyes darted off to the ground and he rubbed his hurt cheek. He slight hissed but both of them decided not to mention it. "Pit used to like them. He said they were comfortable, so; borrow one if you like. These weapons are all mine anyways."

"Really, _you_ would let me take one?"

"Do you need to emphasize on it?!" Dark Pit snapped at him, before he sighed and shut his eyes. He tried to suppress his anger, because he was seriously sick of being on edge all the time. Despite his efforts, he turned to Magnus and added, rather harshly and bitterly: "Take one. I don't care."

The human nodded to thank him, gesture to which Dark Pit rolled his eyes. The angel turned away from him, resuming his search for a specific weapon that belonged to him, whereas Magnus grabbed one of those 'palms' and slid it on his left hand. The straps that hanged from it suddenly started glowing and wrapped themselves around his arm, going all the way up to his shoulder. He stared in awe, impressed by this seemingly magical weapon, and looked at his hand; there were tiny purple sparkles at the tip of his fingers, though he felt no sting from them whatsoever. "That's the Violet Palm," Dark Pit informed him, although he hadn't turned around.

"Violet Palm, got it." Determined to test out the weapon and its efficiency, Magnus turned towards Dark Pit, whose eyes were focused on a black staff, and extended his hand towards the oblivious angel. Energy gathered in his palm and, soon enough, was shot at him. Dark Pit looked up just at the right moment and, thanks to his outstanding reflexes, fired a purple beam of light at the ball of electrical energy. It completely dissipated, much to Magnus' disappointment. "Well, that didn't work."

"You won't kill me with that," Dark Pit growled, then he looked at the weapon he was holding. "In case you're wondering, this is my favorite staff. I'm taking it with me."

"Does it have a name too?"

"The Dark Pit Staff."

Magnus laughed awkwardly. "A little narcissistic, aren't we?"

Dark Pit groaned, attached the weapon behind his back using a shoulder strap, and urged Magnus to go back to the Lightning Chariot. He claimed that they had all they'd need for the mission at hand. Magnus complied and followed his lead, looking all around, still disturbed by the odd setting. To be fair, he had never been into nature that much… He was a boy from the big cities, where people disregarded the landscape and threw their trash on the ground without thinking it was wrong. Magnus was not one of these people, however he had to say that he was not overly worried about what happened to the wildlife and the forests. Not to the point where he couldn't sleep at night, at least.

Now, he had noticed that Dark Pit, despite the rough look he liked to convey, was a sensitive angel inside; topics such as Nature and its preservation were important, if not even fundamental to him. Magnus saw the amount of love and care the angel had for the two unicorns, for instance. Maybe those meant something to him, maybe they reminded him of something dear to his heart, but he never showed such feelings towards anything else but Pit nonetheless.

The human frowned and interrupted his own thoughts when Dark Pit froze again, standing in place, although the Lightning Chariot was at reach. His red eyes were glued to a door farther off in the room—Magnus had no clue what it led to, but judging by the sadness in the angel's eyes, it had to be something that reminded him of someone. The human had no idea what was taking over him though, thus he tried to shake Dark Pit by the arm. No reaction whatsoever, at least for a moment. "Will you leave me alone?" the dark angel demanded, rather roughly, and somehow Magnus sensed that it was not directed at him. Perhaps he was having one of these flashbacks he mentioned the night before.

"I think we should head back to my world," he tried to say, in case that could wake the angel from his living nightmare.

To no avail. "You're not real, you're in my head," Dark Pit said, still staring at the door—or maybe something that stood there before him?

Magnus looked at his angel friend, concerned, and noticed movement to his right, behind the Lightning Chariot. There stood a woman with short blond hair and a blue attire. She had a smile on the lips when she noticed that the human was looking at her and, within a second, she was standing next to him, on his right. It was as though she had… teleported next to him. Was she also a Goddess?

The woman's smile grew wider when she darted a look at Dark Pit. "Here he is, going nuts again!"

The dark angel immediately spun around and his fist collided with the woman's nose. She fell back, taken by surprise, and glared at Dark Pit while he smirked at her. Of course, he had heard what she said, but he wasn't… there before. The illusions were bothering him again, he saw Pit and… for once, he really talked to him, though it sounded familiar, almost like a mashup of… other times they had talked, brought together to form sentences that made sense in context. It was the first time something like that had happened, and the angel didn't quite know what to think of it yet. Maybe something had tampered with his vision this time? Maybe Aphrodite was trying to send him a message through those memories? He thought about what Pit had told him, his ruby eyes narrowing; it made no sense, why would he go to the Underworld? He had nothing to do there, plus he didn't want to come across Medusa… Perhaps it wasn't Aphrodite that sent him those messages, but Hades!

Though… All those voices… Maybe he was simply going insane due to Pit's absence. How'd he know?

"Your reflexes always seem to beat my own, I'm a little envious!" Phosphora stood up and spat blood on the ground.

"Why are you here, Phosphora?" Dark Pit inquired, glaring at her in an accusative way. He had once again his hands on his hips, although, this time, he had furrowed his brows to intimidate the former commander of the Forces of Nature. "You know what happened in Skyworld?"

"You mean, _Stone_ world?"

Dark Pit clicked his tongue and shut his eyes, images coming up again. This time however, he managed to repel them. "So you're aware."

Phosphora only shrugged and started floating in the air, like she often did. She was probably as light as air itself, after all. "You've got the brains, at least. Not the looks though, what a shame! Pit looked so cute, I would've hoped a dark version of this cutie would look even better!"

"Wanna get punched again?"

The lightning woman giggled at that answer; she knew he would not hesitate to do it, but didn't care either. He could keep his bad mood for himself. She was about to turn her back to him when she noticed a strange mark on Dark Pit's cheek: the purple veins running across it. Phosphora gasped and stood back on her own two feet, drawing closer to the angel and touching the wound with a horrified look in her blue eyes. Magnus glanced at both of them, waiting for Phosphora to say something, in case she knew what it was, but all that she did was step back. Was she… scared? The human was unable to tell what was happening in her head at that moment.

Dark Pit glared at her, because she had dared to touch him when he had always said that he hated it. But he was also willing to get answers, so he didn't snap at her. "Seems like you know what that is."

"Of course I do! It's one of Medusa's little babies; they are responsible for Pit and Palutena's stone-formation."

"Can you cut it out with the puns?!" Dark Pit snapped; she started to get on his nerves.

Phosphora looked at him seriously. "Puns should be the least of your concerns: this thing's gonna be the end of you, Pittoo."

Dark Pit hissed at the nickname, but felt too overwhelmed to give her a harsh reply. The dark angel gulped and turned away, upset with the news. So that was it. He was going to be turned to stone in the next few days, if he had to guess. His days of freedom were numbered, reduced to a week at most with how lucky he had been throughout his entire existence. Dark Pit clenched his fists at the thought, and tears began streaming down his usually emotionless face. What had he ever done to deserve this treatment? All he wanted was to save Pit… He wanted to save him, so that he could finally belong to him, be his' forever… And now, he was going to die, be turned into a living statue. At least he'd make sure to stand next to his angel and hold his hand, so that they could join in death.

Phosphora cupped his chin and lifted his head to look at him. She also, for once, looked worried about him. Although she hated his attitude, his sharp tongue specifically, she wasn't completely heartless. "I know someone who can fix this, Pittoo."

"Don't… Don't call me… that…" he whimpered between two sobs.

The former commander nodded and immediately apologized, which Dark Pit admitted to find rather suspicious, no matter the circumstances. Normally, she'd laugh at him, tell him something like: 'I call you however I want, Pittoo!' and clearly insist on the nickname, but not this time apparently. She just stood in front of him, soon followed by Magnus, who seemed just as preoccupied by his condition as she was. "Look, Dark Pit. We have to seek Zeus' help, he can heal you."

"Hot springs also heal angels, _and_ they don't try to subdue them."

"Hot springs won't work with Medusa's power," Phosphora said, putting a finger on his lips so that he stopped contradicting her. "I know you hate Zeus and you have all the reasons to. But he's your only chance."

Dark Pit sighed and pushed her away from him, still not comfortable with her proximity. He stepped back and went abord the Lightning Chariot, asking for Magnus to come along. The human nodded and pulled himself up in order to sit in the chariot, now that he had regained a bit of strength—this necklace was somehow reinforcing him. Well, it wasn't perfect, but it was way better than it had been in Skyworld, so it was surely a matter of time before he was all fixed up and ready to swing his sword at Underworld forces again. Somehow, he looked forward to teaming up with Dark Pit during those fights; the angel was quite a ferocious one on the battlefield, he was stronger than he appeared to be! It was exciting to fight alongside a powerful partner in arms. Although, for that to happen, the first thing they needed to do was free Dark Pit from the curse Medusa had cast on him. So, first stop: Mount Olympus—or wherever Zeus could be living.

Magnus smiled at Dark Pit, who sincerely returned the gesture. "Are we going then, buddy? Zeus is probably waiting for a certain dark angel…" the human said. Dark Pit slightly nodded, his eyes glistening with heavy tears that threatened to run down his cheeks again.

Phosphora looked at them and was relieved when she saw Dark Pit's positive answer to her suggestion. The sooner they found Zeus, the faster the angel would be out of the danger zone. If Dark Pit waited around, he would start to feel paralyzed, soon his limbs would have trouble obeying to him, and in the end he would turn completely stiff. It could take a little while before he completely turned to stone, but it was a horrendously painful process, during which most people ended their lives to stop their nightmare. Yes, she hated Dark Pit, they never got along. But she didn't want him dead: he still had a Goddess and her precious angel to save.

Dark Pit whipped the unicorns and looked down at Phosphora. His eyes glimmered playfully when he screamed to Phos and Lux: "To Skyworld!"

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 _To be continued…_

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 **Updated: 02/11/2019**


	14. Chapter 13: Lover's advice

_**Hi everyone! How are we all doing? Here comes the 13th chapter already! The story is far from being over, I'm barely half way through writing it and I'm working on the 24th chapter, so stick with me :)**_

 _ **Thanks to everyone who has been following this fiction so far, hope you will like it until the end!**_

 _ **I have been considering a few things, regarding the future of this story, and I think I will upload several endings. I don't know for sure, but since I want to leave you the choice, it's probably what I will do :D Don't hesitate to tell me what you think of that, if you'd like to see multiple endings. Also, how do you imagine this story to end?**_

 _ **Anyhow, I'll leave you to it! R &R, don't forget!**_

 _ **Yours truly, Circle of J.**_

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 **Disclaimer: ****I do not own the characters from the Kid Icarus series. The deities mentioned are taken from Greek Mythology, remastered the way I imagine them. What I own, on the other hand, is the plot.**

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 **Kid Icarus: Heirs of the Light**

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 _Chapter 13: Lover's advice_

* * *

 _"Why didn't you go ask Zeus for help?"_ Pit asked, looking at Dark Pit in the eyes while he was sitting on their usual bench. _"Is it because you're too proud?"_

"No, Pit—Alright, don't give me that look. Maybe partly, you're right. However, it's mainly because I feel up to fighting. You know I can't let you go," Dark Pit answered, then his eyes drifted to Magnus, who was feeding Phos and Lux.

The human had found carrots in the gardens of the palace, and decided that giving well-deserved food to the animals would help him calm down. Of course, he was very upset with the direction they had taken, he was pissed off that Dark Pit didn't head directly for Mount Olympus. But he just… he couldn't.

 _"I know you're up to something. What is it?"_ Pit inquired, squinting his gorgeous, glistening sapphire eyes.

"I have a plan to save you, and that is what I will stick to."

 _"I suppose I can't make you change your mind?"_

"You guessed it."

 _"Well, I'm glad. Because when my Pittoo is determined, there's nothing helping it!"_ the light angel beamed, amused, then he let out a sweet giggle that melted Dark Pit's cold heart.

Dark Pit seriously couldn't think about going up to Mount Olympus and ask Zeus for help, considering he had been the one who had banished him in his own dimension and nearly cut off his wings with his bare hands. At the same time, he thought about doing it—of course he did, he didn't exactly wish to die. When he closed his eyes, he wondered if he had made the right choice, and Pit trying to push him to go wasn't helping his case. Mount Olympus was a place that he remembered fairly well and that he loathed more than anything. Even during the Days of Light in his dimension, he had always felt unwelcomed, always felt like he didn't belong there. Aphrodite had often told him it was wrong, since after all he too was a God who belonged in the Pantheon, but… He still hated the place. Now that it was dark, it was even worse…

The idea of seeing Mount Olympus as it used to be, if he went there in this dimension, sickened him; too many memories. Though, what did he have to lose? He had already lost Pit. Even if he was refused help from Zeus, at least he would've tried… right? No, not right, he didn't want to rely on another God. He could handle the situation on his own. So instead of begging for the God's help, he had made up a plan that could possibly save Pit from his prison of stone. For that, he needed to pay a visit to the Undies Besties though. _To be fair, I'm not even_ _scared_ , he told himself, raising an eyebrow. _Losing Pit forever is a much more frightening thought._ Convinced that it was the right choice, Dark Pit stretched his wings to make sure that they were not paralyzed and sighed in relief.

 _"How long before they stop working?"_ Pit asked him, worry in his blue eyes as he brushed his fingers against the highly sensitive dark teal feathers.

Dark Pit shivered at the touch, which felt way too real for comfort, and looked back at his twin. "Maybe ten hours. Enough to get things done."

 _"Make sure you make it back."_

The dark angel nodded in determination. Even though the Power of Flight would soon wear off, he could hold his own for the time being. Since bringing Phos and Lux to the Underworld was a really, really terrible idea, he'd have to fly the human there. For a moment, he feared that Magnus may be too heavy, but left that thought aside. "Magnus, we must resume on our mission," he said aloud, catching the attention of the human he had called out. As soon as he talked to Magnus, Pit vanished into thin air. He had several questions to ask him… They'd have to wait once again. A pinch to the heart because of his twin's sudden absence, Dark Pit realized just how cold it was outside and his body started shaking. However, he chose not to focus on it and looked up at Magnus. "We can't just sit there and watch. Plus, I hate this bench."

"So you finally decided to listen to me and head towards Mount Olympus? About time," Magnus said, staring into the angel's red eyes, in all seriousness.

Dark Pit rolled eyes, about to snap, but successfully contained his rage within himself. He was starting to get a hold of his feelings, he had to say he felt pretty proud of himself for that. Well, they could still… explode sometimes, though that happened way less often than it used to! Though was it… such a good sign, that his personality was losing ground? Maybe not… The angel shook his head and groaned, focusing on the mission at hand. "We are actually going to the Underworld. I have unfinished business there."

Magnus blinked, surprised, and frowned. The Underworld, wasn't it the realm of the dead? Wasn't it where Medusa and Hades lived? Did he mean that they were off to fight Medusa? All so that he didn't have to rely on Zeus? The human sighed, annoyed, and eventually his hand trailed up to Lux's muzzle and he caressed it. The unicorn seemed happy with the affection it received, since it pushed against his hand. After a brief moment during which he collected his thoughts on the matter, Magnus stood on his feet, much to Dark Pit's delight since he was already standing and waiting. He scratched the back of his head, since he dreaded the idea of going to visit the realm of the dead, but… If Dark Pit felt up to taking down the Goddess of Darkness, that would end all of their problems in one snap. What could he say to deter him? "Then the Underworld it is. I'll bring my Violet Palm."

"Oh, you won't need it," Dark Pit said, which took the human by surprise. When he raised his head to look at the angel, confused, Dark Pit had crossed his arms and a little smirk had spread on his lips. "What, you thought we were off to fight Medusa?"

"Well, since you didn't care explaining…"

"No, we're going to find an artifact called a stabilizer," Dark Pit replied. There he was again, the entity Magnus would start to call 'Professor Gloom', since he had such a condescending, know-it-all attitude. "It's one of a kind, it has been created by the Gods. It only serves one purpose: it harvests and conducts the energy of whatever is placed in it."

Magnus blinked several times. _What even?_ he wondered, before he asked the angel directly—since he felt in a smartass mood, he'd just _love_ to explain what he had meant to his _student_ , right? "I don't get it, what does this all mean, once put in plain English?"

The dark angel rolled eyes; he didn't know what he had expected. Obviously, none of this would make sense for a simple human like he was, for he wasn't used to those kinds of objects. Dark Pit was used to them, he worked with magical artifacts all day long, but for a newbie, it ought to be difficult to follow. Thus showing more patience than he would've with anyone else—besides Pit, Dark Pit raised an eyebrow at the human and clarified, making sure to pronounce every important word of the sentence as though he was talking to a child: "In simpler terms, it absorbs the energy of the thing in it and loops it, so that it never wears off. Better?"

Magnus nodded. "So essentially, it stabilizes."

"Now aren't you a _genius_!"

The human grinned. Oh, he didn't feel uncomfortable admitting he hadn't understood, this world of magical artifacts was all brand new to him. Speaking about magical artifacts, the necklace around his neck started to feel strange. Thinking about it, Magnus trailed his hand up to it and rubbed the stone with a weird sense of admiration; the same he had deciphered in Pit's eyes when he, himself, was wearing it back on the Overworld. Magnus couldn't tell why he felt that way, but it was… as if the stone was nibbling on his soul, on his very essence. Although, he didn't feel weaker, rather the opposite: he was growing in strength the more he wore it. Now he knew that he had to keep it if he wanted to roam around Angel Land, Viridi's Tree and the Underworld, but he sincerely wished he could take it off. He even believed that it burnt his skin… He didn't like this thing. Magnus had always had a bad feeling about this necklace. Maybe Medusa had managed to hack into it?

Dark Pit walked closer to the two unicorns, thus catching Magnus' attention, and rubbed their muzzles with something akin to sadness. "We'll be back soon, boys. Promise to be nice and watch over Pit?" he asked them, question to which the unicorns nodded. Right after they heard those words, as though they had perfectly understood them, they ran towards Pit's lifeless statue, guarding it. Dark Pit watched them from his position and he didn't seem to realize the smile that spread across his lips.

Magnus smirked at the view; the angel couldn't help his feelings, now could he? Why lie to himself? He cleared his throat. "Well, would you look at that bright smile!"

Dark Pit blinked, snapped out of his trance, seemed to notice that the human was looking at him and his expression quickly shifted back to his usual bored one. "What are you talking about?! I'm not smiling!" he attacked the human, embarrassed, his cheeks redder than his eyes.

"Come on now, don't be like that," Magnus said, still smirking though. He folded his arms against his chest, deeply amused by the obvious blush on the dark angel's cheeks. It was deep enough to cover his scars entirely. "Just then, you were looking at him and couldn't help b—"

"Shut up!" Dark Pit reacted, blushing even more. "You have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Sure~, whatever you say."

Dark Pit groaned heavily, muttered something under his breath—probably curse words—and pulled Magnus by the arm. He briefly told him that they had no time to waste with 'meaningless details' and led him to the very edge of the floating island that they stood on. The human looked down and gulped; there was at least a few miles of free fall until they reached his homeland, and he really didn't want to jump. For some reason, he knew that, if he did, he'd die. How strange! The dark angel turned to him and stepped back, drawing closer to the end of the island and just about to fall. And, when Magnus least expected it, he did, extending his arms and stretching his dark green wings. The wind was beating his face, brushing through his raven hair, and was soon caught into the silky feathers, which allowed the angel to glide. He flapped his wings, approaching Magnus who had been standing next to the edge of the island, and raised an eyebrow. Was he seriously about to show of—"What'd you think of that, hm?"

The human sighed; he should've known he would. He wiped his face with his hand, already tired, then looked back at the dark angel. "I can't fly."

"Aw, really?" Dark Pit scoffed, then he turned around, his wings facing Magnus. The human sincerely couldn't tell if he was just taunting him, or if he wanted him to hop on his back—there was still a considerable gap between his position and the dark angel's. Did he expect him to jump over it and miraculously catch him? "So? What are you waiting for?"

Magnus didn't seem amused. "You're a little too far, angel."

Dark Pit pouted; he would've loved to see the human jumping off and attempting to grab onto him. Could he never have his fun? The dark angel growled, disappointed, but complied and moved back. "Is Thy Majesty satisfied?" he asked before groaning. Magnus smirked at his obedience and hopped on his back, holding for dear life on his shoulders. Dark Pit laughed, even though he admitted that it was rather painful, and dived right towards the Overworld—of course, at full speed.

Magnus couldn't help but scream in terror: the ground was drawing so close and he wasn't sure that the angel would be able to fly up in time. He could very well see his city, with the lake and the forest, and he closed his eyes. The wind that was beating his face soon stopped, and he felt as though they had stopped moving. He dared to open one eye, his heart pounding in his chest, and Dark Pit was looking at him with a raised eyebrow. Indeed, they were floating in the air, just above ground, maybe a foot away from actually touching the grass of the forest. Was it their stop? How could this be their stop, that was not the Underworld! Confused, Magnus returned Dark Pit's gaze. The dark angel set foot on the ground, stretching his wings once the human was off his back, and winced in discomfort. Maybe speeding off like that wasn't such a great idea, but he sure had fun listening to Magnus' screams. In spite of the slight pain he felt in his wings, he'd do it again anytime.

The human stared at him, pissed off, but didn't say anything about their crazy flight; more the opposite, maybe not mentioning it would spare him the memory of it. Instead, he looked at the necklace he still wore and decided to take it off, since he wasn't in Skyworld anymore. He carefully detached it and handed it to Dark Pit, who held onto it as though his life depended on it. The light glow of the stone changed color, turning into a deep purple, almost identical to that of the angel's arrows. Magnus then took a peek at his surroundings. "That's not the Underworld."

"Aw, really?"

"Stop playing around, why did you bring us here?" Magnus inquired, narrowing his eyes at the dark angel.

Dark Pit wrapped the necklace around his wrist, since he seemed to refuse the idea of wearing it like it was meant to be worn—surely his rebellious side coming out, before looking up at him. Something told Magnus that it wasn't a random stop; maybe he meant for him to go home? Perhaps the mission was too dangerous and he didn't want to get a human involved? But… Weren't they fighting through this together, no matter what? They fought to save Pit, right? Magnus eyed at the angel, rather puzzled. "You want me to head home?"

The dark angel furrowed his brows when he said that. "When'd I say that?"

"We're near my city. You said we were heading for the Underworld—"

"Can't I catch my fucking breath?!" Dark Pit snapped at him, and it was true that he seemed exhausted.

Maybe it was better if they stopped by at Magnus' house, until the angel felt better and ready to get going. Magnus would hate for him to be so tired that he wouldn't be able to lead them where they needed to go… Of course, they had to watch the clock, since Dark Pit's Power of Flight would sooner or later wear off and they'd be stuck, but… Perhaps resting at his place for an hour or two wouldn't hurt. The human raised his head, having taken his decision, and put a hand on the dark angel's shoulder. "Then let's head for my house: we'll rest for a bit. You look like you need it."

Dark Pit shook his head vehemently. "No, let's get going. I'm fine."

"Listen to yourself, you can barely spe—"

"I HAVE TO DO THIS, OKAY?!"

Magnus jumped back. He had never heard Dark Pit scream… He had seen him lose patience more often than not, but he had never been so aggressive. Dark Pit gritted his teeth, hissing at the pain he felt in his lungs because he really lacked air at the moment, and shut his eyes. Letting himself fall down in the grass, the dark angel concentrated on his breathing and did not seem to pay attention to the human standing next to him any longer; he was too busy trying not to die. Once he felt a tiny bit better—able to stand up without his head spinning at least—he turned his back to Magnus and hugged himself. His feelings had gotten the best of him again… And there he thought that he was in control, that he had achieved something, when really everything was slipping out of his grasp. He hoped that he could get a hold of his own emotions, he wished that he had enough inner strength to be able to repel those feelings of wrath, of self-hatred that lingered in his heart ever since he had been banished in his dimension… But truth was, he couldn't keep them from showing. Dark Pit teared up and lowered his head, staring at the grass beneath his feet.

"You're working yourself up."

Dark Pit groaned, shaking like a leaf in the face of the wind; yes, he was, he had always been. Pit's safety was so overly important to him that he had… forgotten himself, in a way. He had forgotten that even his body had limits, whether he liked to admit it or not. He was not invincible, he was not unbreakable. The dark angel let a silent tear roll down his cheek; that simple droplet of salty water managed to send shivers down his spine: it hurt. His body was dying, he knew it, but he had to save Pit. No matter if he died right after he freed him, he just had to do it—it was his destiny.

Magnus stepped closer to the motionless angel, silent so that he would not scare him off. "Buddy, you need to understand that you also need to take care of yourself. As I've told you, Pit wouldn't like to see you like this, on the verge of death but avoiding every solution everyone suggests to you."

Dark Pit sniffed, letting his sorrow take over him, and whispered with a half-broken voice: "I have to save him…"

"You do, I agree," Magnus said, nodding slightly, before he put both of his hands on the angel's trembling shoulders and started to massage them. There was so much tension piling up in them that Dark Pit hissed when he started rubbing them. _Much needed_ , Magnus thought to himself. The angel was in such a pitiful state, how could he not see it? Magnus looked at Dark Pit's back, frowning, then attempted to reason with him again—even though he knew that it rarely worked out in the end: "You do need to save him, but you also need to survive to do that. Your only way of living is to ask for Zeus' help, you know it."

"No, that's not—"

"You know it," Magnus asserted.

Dark Pit gulped and resigned, nodding in silence. He did, he knew it was true, but his excessive pride prevented him from even thinking about asking the God of the Gods. However, the more he waited, the longer it'd take for him to be fixed up… The angel clenched his fists: he really hated himself sometimes, why couldn't he just do it? Why did his mind need to bother him, to certify that he needed no help when he clearly was helpless? Most importantly, why couldn't he fight it off?

 _"You've done it again,"_ Pit's voice arose from the silence around them, and Dark Pit looked up. He saw him near the lake, standing there, with his majestic white wings spread out. He almost looked like a nymph: so gorgeous, such a dignified creature; he couldn't take his eyes off of him. Pit stepped closer, the fabric of his tunic waving with the slight breeze that only he seemed to perceive, and smiled at his darker twin. _"You've blown your chance of survival."_

"You know I always do that…"

 _"I don't encourage it,"_ the light angel said, shrugging one shoulder. _"Won't you go to Mount Olympus now?"_

Dark Pit frowned: they had never talked about Mount Olympus together, how could he hear Pit say it? How could he hear him pronounce it, if his voice was a mashup of his own memories of him? Something wasn't quite right… That was when his endless questions came back to his mind. Dark Pit looked up, staring at his twin's magnificent silhouette, and asked: "Are you real, after all?"

Pit's eyes gleamed at the question, and a little smile appeared on his lips. _"Don't I look real?"_

"No, you're a trick of my brain. Answer my question."

 _"You've answered it yourself; your own way, like usual,"_ Pit whined, looking off to the side, then he saw Magnus and chuckled. _"Hi Magnus!"_

"You see him?" Dark Pit inquired, his eyes widening. So he was real?

Unfortunately for him, Pit never answered his question. He stared at him for a moment, long enough for the darker version to feel uneasy, then told him to turn back and head right for Mount Olympus. Dark Pit was just about to tell him that he would never do that when the light angel disappeared from sight, as if he had never been there at all—which was most certainly the case, to be fair. The dark angel narrowed his eyes, suspicious about this all thing, and turned back to look at Magnus, who seemed rather puzzled. Obviously enough, he couldn't see the shadows that appeared to Dark Pit. Which meant that… they were actual shadows; tricks of his mind, memories from the past. But why did he keep having them? And why did Pit reply to him now? Why wasn't he seeing scenes from the past as they had played out at the time, like he still did sometimes? Why did those… need to be different? He had so many questions… He was convinced that the Gods could have answers, but—No, no buts.

He was heading right for Mount Olympus, he had wasted enough time. He had no will of disappointing Pit. Zeus was an asshole, for sure, but he wouldn't deter him from pleasing his light counterpart. Determined, a fiery passion in his ruby eyes, Dark Pit looked at Magnus and a smirk spread on his lips, lighting up his face usually so blank. "We're going for Mount Olympus."

"I won't even ask what just happened, I suppose you had a vision or whatever… Though, what about the Underworld?" Magnus asked, concerned by this sudden shift. "And this stabilizer thing?"

Dark Pit sighed; he had forgotten about that. "Well, we'll pick it up on the way."

The human smiled at that answer. So, after half a day of pondering, he had finally changed his mind and decided to reach out for Zeus… Kind of a strange thing to happen, but he'd take what was given to him. All that mattered was that the dark angel would be freed from his curse. How he went from 'Never' to 'Let's go now' had no importance whatsoever. Magnus looked at the sky; the sun was setting, they didn't have lots of time left. If they wanted to drop by in the Underworld, grab the stabilizer thing that Dark Pit wanted, then head for Mount Olympus and come back down… They shouldn't waste one second standing there. Only a few hours before Dark Pit's Power of Flight wore off, and they couldn't afford to be stuck either in the Underworld or Mount Olympus. Magnus started to believe that they should've brought Phos and Lux along, but he knew that the angel had been wanting to use his wings. He couldn't imagine how frustrating it was to be a winged creature and yet not be capable of flying on his own.

Dark Pit stood before him, hands on his hips, and turned backwards so that Magnus could hop on him. "I'll send you the bill at the end of this journey."

Magnus frowned at that; what? "The bill?"

"Mhm, you have to pay me for flying you around all the time. I'm not a taxi."

The human looked even more confused at that. "What's a taxi?"

Dark Pit laughed and shook his head; that was what they called an anachronism. He admitted that he was quite fond of them: they always confused everyone around him, and he liked to be the cryptic guy in the crowd. Plus, it also allowed him to show off, since _he_ knew what these things from a far, far away future were before _anyone_ had ever thought about them. The dark angel flapped his wings and headed towards the location of one of the multiple portals to the Underworld. He knew where it was hidden, because once he had… accidentally run into it.

 _"PITTOO?! Where'd he go?" Dark Pit heard Pit scream behind the… let's call it an invisible glass that separated them._

 _"Ugh… I thought I told you not to call me that!" he snapped, but the other angel didn't seem to hear him at all. Dark Pit looked at him through the portal, even though he knew that Pit could not see him, and sighed. What was this place, how'd he get there? It seemed… dark, yet familiar. The odor of burnt flesh, of death all around him…_ _"The Underworld," he concluded, looking bored—as he honestly always did. He held out a hand towards what looked like a mirror opening to the Overworld behind, and noticed that it went right through it, without him being able to see it. As though his hand had been cut off. Dark Pit took a look behind him since he heard something drawing closer. He saw a few Reapers making their way towards him, and quickly went back to the Overworld. "No thank you! Well… that was… strange, how'd I manage to come back here?"_

 _"Where have you been, how did you disappear like that?!" Pit exclaimed, flying up to him since he had been looking around for any sight of his twin. He pulled him by the shoulders and hugged him tight. "I was so scared!"_

 _Dark Pit's heart missed a beat as he did so, however he still pushed Pit away. "Don't touch me, Pit-stain," he muttered under his breath._

Dark Pit shook his head in the middle of his flight, nearly pushing off Magnus, and blinked to come back to reality: the place was in front of him. Green valleys, a water current that led directly to one of the tallest waterfalls of the Overworld, and high cliffs of a strange yet bewitching yellow stone that shone in the sun. That was the place. Magnus frowned, told him to be careful because he didn't want to die, but Dark Pit didn't answer. He was way too absorbed by the astounding beauty of his surroundings. The Overworld really had wonderful landscapes when you knew where to look at. This place in particular wasn't inhabited, and was quite far away from civilization: a safe haven where the two angels liked to spend their time when they had any.

The sunset cast its golden rays on the falling water, making it pop even more than it already did naturally. The trees under and above the cliffs outlined this smidgen of paradise laid out before their unbelieving eyes. It had this warm atmosphere thanks to the sunlight illuminating the cliffs' yellow rock, but it was also very relaxing, with the sound of the constant stream of water. Dark Pit admired the landscape for a moment, hoping this wondrous image would be etched in his retina for the longest time. He had never had time to fully appreciate it; he was usually way more focused on his light angel every time he came there.

Magnus blinked, enthralled by the sight, and darted a look towards the dark angel who remained motionless, a huge grin on his lips. He slightly blushed as well, and the human could only imagine how delighted he was to be there. He guessed that he had probably been there with Pit a few times in his lifetime before. "So that's the Underworld? It's a lot nicer than it sounds."

"No, the Underworld is not visible," Dark Pit replied, then he pointed towards the waterfall. "Beneath the water, there's a cave. In this cave, there's one of the multiple portals leading to the Underworld."

The human nodded. "Don't you need a sort of key to access it?"

"Trust me, you'd wish."

They both laughed together, probably for the first time since they had begun their little adventure together, before Dark Pit took back his serious expression and glided towards the waterfall. The scenery was breathtaking: hundreds of birds of all possible colors flew around the trees below, flowers of all shapes embellished the evergreen trees themselves along with the deep, vivid green grass, and the waterfall led down to a small spring with clear water. They could almost see the fishes in it, even though they were so far up in the sky. Magnus wished he would never have to look away, but he was forced to when Dark Pit flew through the waterfall in order to land in the cave he knew was behind it. Fortunately he knew exactly where it was located, because as soon as the cold water soaked his wings, he lost the ability to fly altogether and fell face first against the yellow stone of the cliff. Magnus, who had been holding on to his shoulders, wasn't affected by his sudden loss of balance.

The dark angel raised his head, cursing at the Gods that he knew the name of, and pushed Magnus off of him so as to sit down. He took a moment to stretch his wings, easing the pain he felt in them because he had used them for so long, and eventually turned towards the human. The latter was smirking, and Dark Pit gritted his teeth. "Say something and I push you off to your death below."

"Sheesh, angel…"

Dark Pit snarled and sprung back to his feet, only to be struck by a sudden ray of light. Magnus rushed towards him, shocked by the surprise attack, and had barely enough time to avoid a... what seemed like a lightning bolt that was about to hit him as well. The human brandished his sword and used it to reflect the bolts aimed at them, while he looked worriedly at the unconscious angel on the ground. He picked him up, threw him over his shoulder, and looked at what was in front of him: the cave seemed to stop right there and then, however lightning bolts kept coming out of nowhere. He guessed that the portal Dark Pit had mentioned was just there, before his very eyes, and braced himself. He needed to move along, they couldn't waste any time.

Magnus held onto the hilt of his sword tighter and stepped towards the wall he could see ahead of him, still using his blade to deflect the attacks. How vicious it was to shoot them when they just landed, but after all they were the Underworld: vicious and twisted were like second names for them.

As he kept on walking, hoping to see the end of the constant shooting very soon, the wall ahead started cracking, as if it was being destroyed from outside. Magnus gulped down his fear and wrapped his arm around the angel's unconscious body, still walking towards the wall despite how scared he truly was. Suddenly, all that surrounded him disappeared and he was met with a strange, nauseating feeling. Dark, extremely tall cliffs outlined a path that he had to follow, whereas the sky above his head was blood red, with no sun at all. "That's probably the Underworld."

Swallowing down his worry, the human walked along the path, feeling as though an unknown force was watching his every move. That thought was absolutely not reassuring: with the dark angel in a forced slumber, he had no idea where he was supposed to go to find this stabilizer—he actually didn't even know what it looked like. Though he felt like he would recognize it if he saw it. So he kept on walking, making sure not to be seen by the Underlings that flooded the area, and eventually found a cave where he was sure no enemy would be lurking. His journey had seemed endless because of how scared he had been, but when he entered the retreat he immediately felt like he could relax; even if the presence was still there, hovering above him.

Magnus sighed, exhausted, and lied the dark angel on the ground. He checked his pulse, rather up close to his face because of that, and of course that was the timing Dark Pit chose to open his ruby eyes. He jerked up, quickly moved away, and looked really pissed off. "What in the Underworld—"

"We are in the Underworld," Magnus informed him, all the more serious. "Also, glad to know you didn't die. You had me concerned for a moment."

Dark Pit scratched his head, wondering what he was talking about. "I nearly died?" he asked to make sure, perplexed. He had trouble remembering what had happened in the cave… He had fallen, yes, then he had turned to Magnus and that… was it. How did they get in the Underworld? Why was he laying on the ground—What did he wake up from? Did he have one of these visions again?

Magnus stared at him, arms crossed, and Dark Pit noticed he had his sword rather close to him, looking… strangely burnt. "You don't remember?" the human inquired, not buying it but still wanting to know the answer.

"What should I remember? I fell to the ground because my flight was compromised with the water, then I turned to you," Dark Pit said, then he squinted his eyes. "Did you knock me out?"

"Why'd I do that?"

Dark Pit shrugged but didn't look away. "You tell me."

Magnus rolled eyes and moved closer to the dark angel, grabbing his wrist so that he wouldn't draw back. Then he brought a hand to Dark Pit's left cheek and turned his head—he hadn't been very gentle, but to his surprise Dark Pit didn't complain. The human examined his scar, only to notice that it had grown in size; it now covered his entire cheek, almost touching his eye, and its color had deepened. There also seemed to be more veins showing than in the past, but he didn't count them the first time so he had no way of asserting it.

The dark angel, once he had worn out all the patience he could harvest, pushed Magnus' hands off of him and touched his cheek. It really started to hurt, it was almost unbearable, even when he wasn't touching it. He felt like his cheek was starting to become... solid. Like stone—which was truly a bad sign in his case. They needed to find the stabilizer very soon, or else he would… die, probably—but he refused firmly to think of it.

Dark Pit darted a look to the human and sighed. "What happened in the cave? I can't recall."

"You were hit by lightning."

"And you weren't?" the dark angel replied, taking offense. "Now I call that unfair. Why me twice and you never, hm?"

Magnus snorted, however he didn't say anything. He refrained from telling him that he had also been targeted, because he didn't want the angel to feel satisfied by that. Instead of that, he looked off, stood up and brandished his sword. Now the real fight was beginning, since they had to rummage through the Underworld to find Dark Pit's precious stabilizer. Without a glance for the dark angel sitting on the ground behind him, the human walked out of their hiding spot and faced an army of Underworld enemies. He gulped, thinking that this time he'd be alone against all those freaks, when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

It was a strong, confident hand; that of a short gloomy angel that he was starting to recognize. "Show no mercy."

* * *

 _To be continued…_

* * *

 **Updated: 02/11/2019**


	15. Chapter 14: Defeated

_**Hello everyone! I bring to you the next chapter in this series! I must say that I like this one a lot. You'll tell me what you think of it in the comments, I hope to hear your feedback! :)**_

 _ **A lot more events are going to take place pretty soon ;) If you thought that all of this was insane, wait for it! Pit's dimension being threatened, Pittoo will need several other beings in order to save the day! Now I can't tell you who they are going to be, of course, but I'd say that you should be quite fond of them. You'll have to wait and see!**_ _ **On that note, I shall leave you to read!**_

 _ **See you in the next one!**_

 _ **Until then,**_

 _ **Yours truly, Circle of J.**_

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 **/!\ Warning: Mild gore elements /!\**

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 **Disclaimer: ****I do not own the characters from the Kid Icarus series. The deities mentioned are taken from Greek Mythology, remastered the way I imagine them. What I own, on the other hand, is the plot.**

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 **Kid Icarus: Heirs of the Light**

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 _Chapter 14: Defeated_

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 _"Pittoo, don't give up now…"_ Pit whispered in his ear, a hand stroking his dark counterpart's cheek with unexpected tenderness. _"You can't let them win, you're better than they'll ever be. Stand up."_

"Pit… Pit, come… help me…" Dark Pit breathed in heavily, trying to ignore the roaring pain in his entire body, and shot another one of those upgraded versions of Monoeyes. Magnus had been defeated, lying on the ground, immobile, but the dark angel wasn't quite done yet with the Underworld forces. Even though he couldn't stand up anymore, sitting on the ground with his face covered with blood, he would fight until his last breath. But there were so many remaining enemies, the stream of Monoeyes and Komaytos simply never ended.

 _"You can do it, I know you can… You have to fight for him, for me…"_ Pit murmured.

"For you… For him…" Dark Pit looked over his shoulder, checking on his human friend, and felt tears in his eyes. He probably wouldn't make it out alive, his injuries were too serious and they had nothing to treat them with. The road to the next hot spring was long, Magnus would stop breathing before they reached it. The dark angel regained his strength thinking about it, because he had to go to the bottom of this, he had to save the human, it couldn't be otherwise. He had brought him into this fight in the first place, and he would make sure that he'd go home safely.

A Monoeye shot a laser beam in his shoulder, causing Dark Pit to screech in pain and fall back down when he had just managed to stand up. _"No, Pittoo!"_ This time, he knew he wouldn't do it again, he knew he'd stay on the ground. He held his staff, aimed it at the Monoeye that attacked him, but another one shot his arm, making him drop his weapon and carving a bleeding hole in his elbow. Dark Pit didn't give up though, forcing himself on his feet despite the overwhelming pain in his pierced thighs, then dashed to the side to grab his staff back.

"Pit… I… I love you…" he managed to articulate.

 _"I love you too,"_ Pit answered in a soft voice that Dark Pit had never heard from him before. _"Fight, my Pittoo."_

Dark Pit gulped down the blood in his mouth and nodded, though tears were running freely down his cheeks due to the horrendous pain he felt everywhere. Yet he charged a shot and decimated a few monsters, but more of them were already above him. It was impossible that he would make it out in one piece, they were way too strong. The dark angel felt his legs give out and soon fell to the ground, face first against the cold stone. He tried to stand back up, to fight more in the name of his angel of light, to defend his friend, but his body wouldn't allow him to move an inch. The Monoeyes gathered around him, just about to kill him off when a voice erupted from the skies: "Stop!"

Dark Pit couldn't help but feel grateful, even though he despised her so dearly. She had just saved his life, whether it was on purpose or not. The angel darted a frightened look towards his human friend, who moaned in pain, thus confirming that he was still alive. "Magnus…" he tried to call him, but his voice had died in his throat. As soon as he had talked to the human, Pit disappeared from his sight in a halo of golden light. Dark Pit blinked, momentarily blinded by the sudden brightness, and cleared his voice to try and call for Magnus again. However, that only resulted in him tasting his own blood, that was flowing in his mouth. He spit it on the ground, coughing, but the more he did the more pain he felt throughout his body.

Medusa appeared in the skies, smiling like she always was despite the circumstances, and leaned in to look at the two intruders. "Oh Dark Pit! What a treat, I wonder why you have come to my land."

Dark Pit groaned, coughed again because of it, and managed to turn his head to face the Goddess of Darkness. He had to gather the very last of his strengths to sit up. He found himself absolutely unable to say a word, much to his dismay, but that only pleased Medusa, who couldn't help but sneer at his physical state. "Looking for something, I see. May I be of any help?"

Dark Pit glanced at Magnus, sadness filling his red eyes since the human had stopped moving. He tried to reach out for him but he could barely lift his arm. _Please, stay alive for me… I beg you_ , he thought, hoping it would be loud enough for the human to hear him. _If you don't do it for me, do it for Pit… He's there with us, please… Please, don't do this to us… Open your eyes…_

"Worried about your little friend?" Medusa inquired, since she noticed the sorrow in the dark angel's eyes. She snapped her fingers and a hot spring appeared out of nowhere, a few meters away from the unconscious human. The Goddess moved closer and pushed his motionless form into the water with her truly gigantic hand. "Here, that will fix him right up."

Dark Pit gazed at Magnus, who indeed had started breathing again and whose wounds were disappearing. He instantly felt relieved when he saw the wonders of the waters working on a human being when they shouldn't have. He was aware that humans could not be healed by the holy waters of hot springs, but somehow he didn't care at the moment. Maybe it was thanks to that necklace he wore again around his neck—Dark Pit had been clever enough to give it to him before they went against the monsters of the Underworld, thinking it'd increase his chances of survival. The dark angel silently thanked whatever God had given him that idea, since it really did save his friend's life. _Sometimes, I should really praise myself: I can have amazing ideas._

Medusa's hand slowly started pushing Dark Pit towards the hot spring, and he had sincerely no will of holding it back. The horde of Monoeyes watched the spectacle as the dark angel rolled on the ground, leaving trails of blood behind him. He moaned in pain but didn't fight back, accepting the help he could get. Even if it came from his enemy, he wasn't in a position to spit on her hand. When his body sank in the holy water, all of his injuries vanished in the blink of an eye, as well as the pain crippling his body. He felt good as new—well, almost, his right leg was a little stiff. Nonetheless, Dark Pit dared hope that the curse Medusa had cast on him was gone as well, but quickly pouted when he touched his cheek: still there, burning, solidifying. Medusa smiled and stood back up, glancing at the two intruders. "Now, tell me that I'm not looking out for you, Dark Pit!"

"Thanks… for saving him…" Dark Pit tried to say, but his voice kept cracking up in his throat. However he didn't pay any attention to it, focusing on the Goddess who stood in the distance. He knew that she wasn't helping them for free; she must have been hoping for something in return. He'd never surrender to her orders, if that was what she wished. Dark Pit furrowed his brows, taking a sharp expression, and stood on his feet. Now his tunic was soaked, but he admitted that it was the least of his worries at the moment. Instead, he turned towards Magnus and helped him out of the water once each and every one of his injuries had vanished.

"Aw, don't thank me! It's natural, anything for my favorite subordinate," Medusa smirked, observing Dark Pit's every move, then she folded her arms. "Where do you think you're going?"

Dark Pit kept silent for a moment, checking Magnus' pulse, and eventually looked up at the Goddess. He wore his bored look, frowned eyebrows and smirk on the lips: he was back to his attitude. The dark angel challenged the Goddess of Darkness with a playful gleam in his ruby eyes when he asked, a hand on his hip: "Why'd you care?"

Medusa shrugged and her smirk only grew wider when she saw that he was back to his true, inner self. There was the angel that she wanted in her ranks: a strong character, witty and aggressive. Exactly the type of commander that she was looking for this whole time—Thanatos had done a rather good job in the past, but it was true that he was a beginner compared to Dark Pit, by the look of it! The dark angel had the personality needed to command an army. She wouldn't give up until he was on her side, whether she'd have to force him to be or not. Medusa eyed at the two smaller figures that had started going away while she was lost in her own thoughts, and attempted to stop them by slamming her fist in front of them.

Dark Pit raised an eyebrow, unimpressed, and took out his staff to shoot it. The Goddess winced at the piercing pain and quickly drew her hand back. "There's nowhere you can go, Dark Pit!" she said, her voice roaring with the anger she felt overtaking. "There's no hole you can hide in where I won't find you!"

"Look at Mrs. Snakey-head over here threatening me!" Dark Pit growled, then he leaned over to Magnus and picked him up. "Shut up, you're giving me a headache."

Medusa frowned, unhappy with the way he treated his natural superior, and was about to slam her fist on the two of them before she was interrupted by a blue flash of light. She jumped back, taken aback, and examined her hand to see that she had a cut running along its side. Even Dark Pit looked surprised by the sudden attack, for he did not have seen it coming either. His red eyes then focused on… nothing—there was definitely nothing there—and his lips bore certainly the biggest smile they could have. "You're real!" he exclaimed, though Medusa had no idea of whom he was talking to.

The Goddess of Darkness tried to attack him again while he wasn't looking, to increase her chances of killing him, but, once more, a blue arrow hit her palm and forced her to retreat. These were very strong, and strangely familiar… But she couldn't put her finger on what they were. Dark Pit glanced at the Goddess of Darkness, who was vanishing into nothing along with the hundreds of Monoeyes surrounding them. His heart was pounding in his chest; he couldn't believe his eyes. He turned back to face none other than his Pit, bewildered by his sight: he was still one of his illusions, right? How did he… hit Medusa? So he was real! The dark angel felt his heart beating faster and teared up; he had missed him so much… His angel, his light, his magnificent little Pit.

Pit turned to look at him, lowering his precious Palutena Bow that he had used against Medusa, and smiled. He was reassured to see that Dark Pit hadn't been wounded—but fortunately, his timing had been beyond perfect. _"Pittoo!"_ he screamed at the top of his lungs, heavy tears in the corner of his eyes, then he ran towards his twin and took him in a warm embrace.

It felt too real, too genuine to be denied; it had to be happening, and the dark angel couldn't believe it. His Pit was back, he was there! But… What about the statue in Skyworld? Dark Pit blinked, at a loss for words, and pushed those thoughts aside in order to hug Pit back… Only to find out that his arms went right through him. "What—How—?"

 _"I… I don't know,"_ Pit replied, frowning at what had just happened. _"Maybe it's because I'm not really there."_

"Are you not? But you shot her with your arrows! And you're hugging me right now, I-I feel it Pit!"

 _"You told me yourself that I was a trick of your brain,"_ Pit said. He looked all the more serious, which was one thing that Dark Pit hated above all. Pit was usually such a sunshine, always smiling, always cheerful… Seeing him worried did not please his darker twin in the slightest. Pit pecked him on the cheek, then stepped back and gazed at him with such passion that Dark Pit thought that he was dreaming.

Maybe he was, after all. The dark angel pouted, murmured that it was 'unfair that you can touch me but I can't', and glanced at Magnus. The human was just starting to wake up from his comatose. Dark Pit's wings jerked up with excitement: he wanted to ask him if he felt alright, but he felt Pit's persistent sapphire eyes on his back. If he talked to Magnus, the light angel would vanish again, and that was the last thing he wanted to happen. Since he had so many questions on his mind, that he had stocked up for the last few days, he thought that it wasn't the best option to cut his conversation with Pit short; quite the opposite. Magnus was a big guy, he could pick himself up without needing Dark Pit's assistance, right? Well, he better, since the dark angel didn't intend to help him out. He spun around, faced his dear lighter version, and hesitated before starting to talk, impatient to get answers: "Pit, I—"

 _"Shh, Pittoo, I know,"_ Pit assured, then he clicked his tongue and frowned. Dark Pit hated this expression on his face, it didn't suit him, though he didn't mention it and waited for his lighter counterpart to continue. _"Though questions can be answered later. For now, you two should keep walking, we don't have a lot of time left before your wings stop working. I want you out of here before tomorrow."_

Dark Pit shook his head and moved closer to Pit, wanting to hold him back; he didn't have the time to however. As soon as Dark Pit was in front of him, just about to 'rest' his forehead against his own, Pit disappeared in that same halo that always absorbed him. On the brink of tears, the dark angel shook himself out of it and glanced over to Magnus, who was now standing up and looking around in confusion. Dark Pit folded his arms, smirking, and raised an eyebrow at his perplexed expression. "Took you long enough to wake up, Magnus."

Magnus eyed at him, surprised, and scratched the back of his head. He didn't feel any pain lingering in his body anymore, although he'd have sworn that he was nearly killed in this fight… Speaking of the fight, where were the enemies? The sky above them was empty. Did Dark Pit deal with all of them on his own? And why was he wet? It was as if he had just taken a bath… Wait—Was there a hot spring there before? He couldn't remember seeing one, though it was there in front of his eyes… Just how many things had happened during his short slumber? "Uhm, what exactly happened here? Did you beat them, angel?" Magnus inquired, hoping that the dark angel would give him a heads up on the events.

Dark Pit slightly nodded and his smirk grew wider—showing off, as usual—before he ran his red orbs along the human's body. That was rather unsettling, but Magnus decided not to pay attention to it. "You expected me to lose against those scums?"

Magnus honestly couldn't help but nod, much to Dark Pit's irritation. Instead of snapping at him, the dark angel leaned forward, picked up his staff that looked intact despite the number of hits it must have taken during the battle, and started walking off at a fast pace. Magnus frowned, still staring at the hot spring that he could swear wasn't there when he fell down, but followed Dark Pit, for he wouldn't wait for him anyways. "So why exactly do you need that stabilizer thing?" he asked Dark Pit, trying to make conversation with the strangely focused angel.

"It stabilizes the energy of whatever is placed in it, like I have told you, remember?" Dark Pit replied, looking at him over his shoulder. He was still a little upset, but tried not to show any of it. "You see that necklace you're wearing? Goddess Aphrodite told me that it was the key to the only portal leading back to my dimension. However, she also warned me that it can only be used once before shattering and being lost forever."

Magnus frowned, wondering what he was getting at with this explanation, before he decided to simply ask for clarifications: "What does this have to do with the stabilizer?"

Dark Pit rolled eyes, though his gentle smile didn't tell the same story: he was far from annoyed, contrary to the impression he tried to convey. Magnus had noticed just how much the angel liked to explain things, how much he loved to be the smartass in the crowd. " _If_ I can put the stone in the stabilizer—hopefully I will—when I open the portal, it will loop its energy and keep it going, without it shattering."

"So, keep the portal open even after you've walked in."

"In other words."

Magnus nodded, starting to understand. That would allow Dark Pit to come back whenever he wanted to, even after he had left to his home dimension. Though one question remained… "Wouldn't the portal stay open for anyone to walk in if you did that?"

"I'd hope!" Dark Pit exclaimed, before he furrowed his brows and looked at where he was leading them. "But enough chatting for now, we have things to attend to. I'll tell you more once we reach the cave."

The human walked behind the angel, still a little confused about Dark Pit's plan that he only knew partly, and kept silent while the dark version of Pit looked above the tall, extremely tall cliff in front of them, blocking their path. He clicked his tongue and pulled Magnus close to him before flying up at high speed, since he claimed they had wasted enough time and needed to hurry. Magnus honestly couldn't agree more; the atmosphere of the Underworld felt awfully oppressive, even more for a mere human like he was. The sooner they got out of there, the better he'd feel.

Once they set foot on land, all the way up the cliff, Dark Pit started scanning the horizon. Magnus, on the other hand, only cared for his breathing, that had been compromised by the speed at which they had flawn up the cliff. He coughed, doing his very best to keep his calm, then caught the angel's eyes on him and forced himself back up. He didn't want to be made fun of at the moment, so he had to play it off as though he hadn't felt a thing. Dark Pit looked satisfied with that and led them along a path made of spiky rocks, that Magnus quite frankly hated to step on. His shoes were not made for that! He winced and hissed at every step he took, and secretly hoped that the path would soon go back to its previously soft rocks.

Dark Pit turned to him, seemingly pissed off by his constant whining, and told him to suffer in silence. Soon enough, they found another one of these caves, and the angel's wings perked up at the sight. "Bingo," he said under his breath, not wanting to seem too ecstatic—although he really was, no denying it.

Magnus glanced at the cave and gulped; it was dark in there, a little too much for comfort. However, he didn't manifest his fear and followed the dark angel who guided him. Then their previous conversation came back to his mind and he asked: "So, what's the idea once you've gotten the portal to stay open?"

"What in the Underworld—?" Dark Pit frowned, wondering what he meant, before his eyes lit with realization and he answered: "Oh, of course. I'll ask Hermes for my well-deserved favor."

"But didn't—" Magnus started, then he interrupted himself. He understood what the angel had done there. Since the two dimensions couldn't communicate, Hermes from his dimension wouldn't know that he had already asked a favor to the Hermes of this dimension… "Clever little bastard."

Dark Pit laughed at that, his eyes gleaming mischievously. Then he began walking again, focused on listening in, to see if some enemies were around. He was surprised to find that there were almost none across the first tunnel. Magnus wanted to ask him other questions regarding his plan, mainly to know what the favor would be, but he thought that he already had an idea: it would be to save Pit. A God as powerful as Hermes could probably save an angel from a stone prison, right? Or at least, he'd be able to find some other God who could—Zeus, for instance. A God had less chances of being denied help than an angel, since according to Pit, they were quite insignificant to the 'Upper Beings'.

Magnus followed Dark Pit for what seemed like an eternity of endless tunnels. They had to hide from several enemies that passed by, jumping out of their way and retreating behind pillars, but they eventually reached… a sort of ossuary. Piles of bones everywhere, all around them, but at least no Underlings. Dark Pit jumped down, his feet immediately sinking under dozens of bones, and gritted his teeth to contain his profound disgust. "Nasty…"

Magnus looked at him from above, not sure he wanted to go down and swim in bones, and made sure that no Underworld enemy would creep up behind him. "Yeah, I'm definitely not following you in there, angel: you're on your own." Thus he took his position, as guardian of the entrance.

Dark Pit ventured amongst the endless amount of bones, fists clenched, when a light glimmer caught his eyes: the stabilizer. It looked very different from what he would've thought, but he knew it was it; it had a roundish shape with a hole in the middle, big enough to fit a stone like his own. The dark angel forced his way to the artifact and felt instantly relieved when his hand grasped it. "I've got it," he told Magnus, whom he thought had followed him since he hadn't heard him before, then raised his head when met with no response. He saw Magnus standing at the entrance, his sword in hand and turning his back to him. "Magnus, what in the Underworld are you doing up there?! You were supposed to follow me!"

The human turned around and nodded. "I was supposed to, but I wasn't too thrilled by the setting."

"Aw, you scared~?"

"You have the thing?" Magnus asked him, rolling eyes, and he smiled when the angel nodded in response. "Then come back up here. Let's head towards Mount Olympus before you turn into a living statue."

Dark Pit agreed and flapped his wings, except that they were buried under bones. Magnus laughed behind him, which only made the angel more aggro. The human darted a look towards him, grinning widely at the sight before him. "Could it be that you're stuck, angel?"

"Could it be that you're not helping me?!" the dark angel snapped at him.

Magnus raised an eyebrow, deeply amused by Dark Pit's attitude despite his intense struggle. "You haven't asked, though even then I wouldn't have. This is just too entertaining."

Dark Pit cursed, wiggled around to push off the bones that bothered him, and his wings suddenly stretched out. He fluttered them and immediately flew high enough to get out of the pile of remains—he silently thanked Zeus for that, since he was starting to get worried for his last tunic. The dark angel landed next to Magnus, pulled him by the waist despite his heavy weight, and forced himself off the ground. He felt as though his wings would fall off but only gritted his teeth, because he had to do it, no matter what. They couldn't afford to remain stuck in the Underworld—he felt Medusa's presence drawing closer. Dark Pit began to speed off towards the portal he could see farther in the distance, until a dark shadow appeared in front of it, blocking their way.

Dark Pit cursed at his bad luck that seemed to stick to him and flapped his wings rapidly, trying to slow his trajectory. The last thing he'd want was to crash in whatever stood before them—most undoubtedly Medusa. The dark angel glared at the figure before their eyes and held onto Magnus as tightly as he could. "I've got you."

"Don't get yourself killed, Pittoo."

Dark Pit groaned and sincerely hesitated to drop him to his death below. "You see the ground? Call me that again and you'll get a closer look at it."

The dark angel grabbed his staff and shot at the shadow before them, hoping that his purple arrow will shed a light on whoever—or whatever—stood there. Once the arrow hit the shadow, it allowed them to see Medusa's face in plain sight. The Goddess of Darkness smirked and extended her hand towards Dark Pit, which he barely had enough time to avoid. He swiftly flew to the side and aimed to go around the immense Goddess, but her other hand soon blocked his path while the other hovered above him. His heart skipped a beat and he thought of shooting off Medusa's hand in front of him, however he was caught by the other. He attempted to fly away, flapping his wings with all his strength, but there was nothing helping the situation; he was stuck, Magnus pressed against him. Medusa couldn't help but laugh at the sight, then she brought the two intruders closer to her face. "I told you you couldn't hide, Dark Pit."

"I should've known it was you!" The angel panicked and tried harder to break free from her hold, however he wasn't strong enough. Magnus held onto the hilt of his sword and tried to swing it at the Goddess' face so that she would let go, but she had predicted it and pinched it from his hand. She then snorted, letting it fall to the ground several hundreds of meters below.

Dark Pit eyed at Magnus with a strange, defeated gleam in his eyes; a heartbroken glimmer that hurt to see. "I'm sorry, Magnus," he whispered, then he hissed in pain. Medusa had squeezed her hand around the angel and the human that she held, sneering at Dark Pit's whimpers of pain. Magnus looked at him, afraid that it was the end this time, but the dark angel snarled and glared at the Goddess of Darkness. "Medusa, let us go!"

Medusa's laughter only intensified. "Are you begging me, Dark Pit?"

The angel nodded, a tear running down his cheek, and he sniffed. The pain was too intense, and he couldn't bare the fact that Magnus was also suffering from it. He didn't ask for it, he didn't deserve it. Dark Pit was the one who had brought him into this, it was his fault if the human was hurt. He simply couldn't accept it. "Please, Medusa, I'll do anything. Since that's probably what you want, I'll even surrender if you let him out of the Underworld."

"Oh, will you?" Medusa grinned, delighted by the proposition. "You'd care for a _human_? To the point of sacrificing your personal freedom?"

Dark Pit looked at Magnus, slightly nodded as if to say: 'I trust you', then turned back to face the Goddess of Darkness. "Yes. He's my friend, he didn't want to be here but I dragged him into this. Let me make sure he survives, even if I don't."

Medusa considered the offer and eventually picked Magnus up, so that she could hold him in her free hand and guide him to the ground, right in front of the portal. Magnus looked up in horror, unwilling to leave Dark Pit there and to go through the portal without him, but the Goddess told him to walk away and never turn back. The human was about to reply that he'd never abandon his friend when he met Dark Pit's eyes. He had that worried look in his ruby eyes, a sincere smile on the lips and tilted his head to the side. "Go, Magnus," he demanded, his eyes sparkling with affection. "You know what you have to do. You don't need me to do it, I know you're brave enough to make it."

Magnus frowned and shook his head. No, he couldn't go, he couldn't leave without Dark Pit. He considered him his friend and refused to turn back. Magnus wasn't one to abandon his friends when they were in danger. "Angel, I'm not leaving you to die."

Dark Pit shook his head and felt Medusa's eyes on him. He seemed tensed but tried to sound reassuring. "Magnus, go."

The human groaned, enraged, and grabbed his sword. Dark Pit's eyes widened and he vehemently shook his head to deter him from attacking the Goddess of Darkness. Magnus tried it nonetheless, only to be pushed away by Medusa and crash into the nearest cliff. He moaned in pain, stood back on his feet, ready to take down the Goddess, but Dark Pit had raised an arm and was aiming his staff at Magnus. "Don't make me do this," the dark angel warned, a serious expression on his face. The human stepped back and didn't need to be told twice, yet promising that he'd come back to save him no matter how he felt about it. Medusa laughed at that and brutally pushed the human through the portal.

Magnus fell face first against the yellow stone of the cliff, back to that cave where Dark Pit and him had been targeted with Medusa's lightning. He quickly sprung on his feet, his left hand wrapped around the necklace that glowed around his neck, when he noticed that he was holding something in his other hand. Something that was not his sword, since he had just dropped it to hold the stone. Perplexed, he looked down and gasped: it was the stabilizer, which slightly glimmered with the rays of the sun casting on its edges. He furrowed his brows, then remembered Dark Pit's words.

Yes, he knew what he had to do: he had to go to Dark Pit's dimension in order to find Hermes and ask him to save Pit. With Pit by his side, they could safely go against Medusa and defeat her, thus freeing the dark angel from his forced servitude. He had sworn that he'd save him, and he would never step back.

The human moved closer to the opening of the cave, suddenly remembering how high up he was. He would've jumped in the spring below if it hadn't been that far down. His eyes darted back towards the wall of the cave, thinking about Dark Pit and his sacrifice, before he looked up at the sky through the waterfall. "Phos, Lux!" he called out. He didn't believe that they'd come for him, but it was perhaps worth a try.

The neighing of two horses reassured him; so they had heard him. Now where did he need to go to open the portal? Could it be opened from anywhere? Did he just need a secret, latin formula for it to suddenly appear out of nowhere? How would he know, he was merely a human… The Lightning Chariot stopped before him, behind the waterfall, and Magnus squinted his eyes when he recognized those strange, white feathers on board. He gasped, bewildered, but a powerful hand gushed out of the water and pulled him in the chariot.

 _"Mission first, explanations later!"_

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 _To be continued…_

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 **Updated: 02/11/2019**


	16. Chapter 15: In the eyes of Giants

_**Hi everyone! How are we doing? Here is the next chapter in the series, hopefully you'll like it just as much—if not more—as the others! This one has caused me to think and rethink, because this is a rather complicated issue and I was wondering what to do with this whole situation in the future of the fiction. But I came up with something, so bear with me!**_

 _ **Anyways, I'll have to let you go for now! R &R if you have the time, my friends, it's heartwarming to get your feedback! If you don't have the time to do that, you can still Follow/Favorite the story if you'd like to keep on reading it. It helps me know that you guys appreciate it! :)**_

 _ **Until next time, which will be Friday,**_

 _ **Yours truly, Circle of J.**_

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 **Disclaimer: ****I do not own the characters from the Kid Icarus series. The deities mentioned are taken from Greek Mythology, remastered the way I imagine them. What I own, on the other hand, is the plot.**

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 **Kid Icarus: Heirs of the Light**

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 _Chapter 15: In the eyes of Giants_

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 _"I had to make a deal with Hades,"_ Pit explained, though there was a glimmer of worry in his blue eyes at the mention of the Lord of the Underworld. He shut his eyes, still holding onto the unicorns' halter. _"He could extract my soul from the statue—and eventually give me back my body—if I helped him find a new envelope… That's what I'm willing to do right now, before we go back to the Underworld and save Pittoo."_

The angel of light hadn't told Magnus where they were going, but the human really wasn't worried; he knew he could trust Pit with his life, he had shown to be worthy of it several times before. He listened carefully at everything Pit told him, concerned for him when he heard about his deal with the Ruler of the Underworld. They were enemies, they fought on opposite sides, yet they came to a bargain: Pit's life against a new envelope for Hades. Somewhere deep in his heart, Magnus wished that Pit had never accepted: they didn't know why Hades wanted a new body, nor what he would do with it. What if he decided to attack the Goddess of Light again, now that she was out of commission? What would they do if a new Uprising arose?

Pit wasn't yet in his body; from what he had explained, he was a soul, so he couldn't fight the Lord of the Underworld that way. He was something akin to a blob of light, that had taken shape of his former self to ensure that he could help Dark Pit in his adventures. Pit had told him that he knew it would be easier to reach out to Dark Pit if he still looked like himself, and perhaps he hadn't been wrong. Knowing the dark angel, he probably wouldn't have paid attention if he had only been a light bubble following him around.

Magnus looked at Pit, still shaken by the fact that he could see him—and even more that Pit could actually touch him—and was about to ask a question about the whole Hades problem, however he refrained from doing it. Maybe it was better if they didn't mention it. Pit probably didn't wish to expand on the subject, since he looked rather ashamed that he even had to accept a deal with the Lord of the Underworld in the first place. Magnus sat back in the Lightning Chariot and took out of his pocket the stabilizer thing; he still had no clue how it had ended up in his hand. Did Dark Pit give it to him so that he could keep going without him? How would he do that? He hadn't told him how to open up the portal, how to find Hermes— _"What's that you're holding?"_

"It's called a stabilizer," Magnus answered Pit, without glancing away from the artifact. "I need to use it in order to reach for Dark Pit's dimension."

Pit blinked, perplexed, and laughed out loud. Oh, right, he didn't know… And Magnus had sworn that he wouldn't tell him about it. However, with the circumstances… He couldn't hold secrets, because Time was urging them to find a solution quickly. _"Dimension? What do you even mean, are you sure you didn't get hit a little too hard?"_

The human shook his head and looked off to the side, more serious. "Dark Pit told me to keep it a secret from you. But… He's probably going to die if I don't tell you, and I don't want his death on my conscience. I don't know much about how Dark Pit arrived into your lives, I believe it was through the Mirror of Truth, right?"

 _"Yes,"_ Pit nodded, then he smiled a little at the memory. _"He appeared out of it, it had created him based off of my 'darker side', as Lady Palutena said. He was supposed to be affiliated to the Underworld army, but fortunately I shattered the mirror before his completion. Thus, he was on, well, nobody's side, but that suits me fine."_

"Well, you're wrong."

The light angel turned his head towards him, confused. He was frowning, which was a strange sight on him, and eventually opened his mouth: _"What do you mean by 'you're wrong'?"_

Magnus felt really bad about telling Pit, but he couldn't help it; he needed to be honest, even though Dark Pit would've hated him for spitting it out. He couldn't afford to lose his friend. Folding his arms, Magnus gazed at the landscape below their chariot and sighed. "That Mirror of Truth was an interdimensional portal. Dark Pit was ripped away from his dimension because of it, and since it is destroyed, he can't head back there."

Pit looked at him in all seriousness, though it was visible that he didn't buy it. _"Did Pittoo tell you that?"_

"Yes, Pit, I'm not making this up," Magnus assured, before he faced the light angel. "He wouldn't want me to tell you that, but I decided not to care. We're about to lose him, I can't keep this for myself any longer. Together, him and I had planned on opening the portal to his dimension using the necklace you found on the Overworld, however… our plan was compromised."

 _"And how would you open it?"_ Pit inquired, taking this more seriously. _"Did he tell you?"_

Magnus shook his head; that was what he feared. He had no idea of the steps he ought to follow, of how to even trigger the stone. Plus, he'd also have to fasten it in the stabilizer, though he didn't know how it worked in the first place… Magnus peeked at the shining object in his hands, doubt filling his eyes; maybe he wasn't up to all of this, why would he be? He was a human being, who had no idea that those things existed to begin with, and now he was supposed to handle them perfectly—first try, because he couldn't hope for a second attempt? He admitted that it was all a little overwhelming in his view. But perhaps he needed to stay rational about this: maybe this object had… a switch, or even instructions written somewhere about it. When he thought about it, he was almost certain that the Gods must have written a book about their creations, it had to be. If he managed to get his hands on it and read through it, he'd be able to understand and work something out, right? But where could this mysterious book be located, if it even existed?

Pit eyed at Magnus, who had been lost in thoughts for a minute, and whipped Phos and Lux. Their destination was not far; he could see it start to appear before them. That tall mountain that he so rarely visited, only a few times to meet Palutena outside of the Pantheon. _"There it is: Mount Olympus!"_ the light angel beamed, already excited.

The mountain itself was rather narrow, looking like a spike erecting towards the skies, half-covered by the clouds. Below it, there was a vast forest with high, colorful trees that humans did not discover yet—fortunately, the Gods wanted to preserve its beauty for as long as they'd be able to. Even though night had started to fall and the sky above the Overworld was becoming dark, it was still bright as day at the very top of the mountain that they could see through the heavy clouds: a luminous, golden gleam that made Magnus pretty curious. Was this place unaffected by night? What did he expect, they were Gods: physics didn't apply for them. Magnus turned to look at Pit, who was guiding the Lightning Chariot to the very top of the mountain. "So you want to meet Zeus?"

Pit nodded vigorously. _"He can provide a body for Hades. Well, heh… haha… He won't be happy about it, but that's all I can think of at the moment."_

Magnus chuckled at the obvious nervousness of the light angel before they reached their destination. They passed through the clouds and the human dropped his jaw: there was a castle and everything up there, hidden from sight all this time! It was not a small castle, it was actually gigantic! It looked like one of their temples, except two times bigger and, well, wealthier. There were golden ornaments all around the temple, and its roof, instead of being red like most were on the Overworld, was gold and shone in the sun—because yes, there was a motionless sun in the sky, as though it had been glued to it to ensure that daylight would remain in the land of Zeus.

The Lightning Chariot pulled to an abrupt stop which sent Pit flying over the two unicorns. _"Woah woah woaah!"_ the angel of light screamed in terror, realizing too late that he was falling and trying to hold onto the halter. However, despite his efforts, he soon landed against the golden pavement of the ground. _"Ow…"_ Amused, Magnus laughed and jumped out of the chariot, giving a quick pat on the muzzles of the unicorns. Phos and Lux neighed with delight, which only made him happier to pet them, and suddenly their eyes widened. Magnus frowned, turned around and jumped when a rather handsome man appeared in front of him. He stepped back, startled, and the man only smiled in a reassuring way before looking over to Pit's soul.

The latter had stood up and bowed to illustrate his undying respect for the God before them. _"Lord Zeus!"_

The God of all Gods, who looked way younger than Magnus would've thought, nodded in his direction and folded his arms. He had blond, wavy hair that cascaladed down to his shoulders, and dazzling blue eyes that almost looked as though they were filled with lightning. His outfit was just like Pit's: a chiton, shorts beneath, and a belt around his waist. He also had a necklace, with a heavy-looking medallion hanging from it. The medallion itself was gold, shining thanks to the rays of the sun reflecting on it, and a lightning bolt was engraved in it. Compared to Medusa, who was the only Goddess that the human had met, he was a sunshine—so many bright colors on his person! Medusa was… dark, gloomy, kind of similar to Dark Pit when he thought about it. Perhaps that was why she wanted him on her side so dearly. Magnus shook his head to focus on what was happening, since he had no will to think about his imprisoned friend at the moment. Zeus invited Pit to stand back up with a simple hand gesture, and curiously eyed at Magnus before he walked over to the two unicorns. "Pit, it has sure been a long time."

 _"Too long, Lord Zeus!"_ Pit agreed, his face lighting up with a sweet smile on his lips. He sprung on his feet after he had been allowed to, his wings fluttering slightly—which was something that they did a lot, much to Magnus' interest. Did it mean anything when they did? _"I have a request to ask you, if you allow me, Lord Zeus."_

"Normally I wouldn't, you're quite aware of it, Pit. Angels aren't supposed to be the ones asking for favors," Zeus began, not even looking at the angel beside him. "But since you brought the Lightning Chariot with you, and even a friend from the Overworld, I assume it is an emergency."

The young angel looked at him and shook his head, his white wings flapping again. _"Yes, Lord Zeus, it is."_

"Then follow my lead, we shall talk inside."

Zeus looked at the two friends and started walking towards the temple, which Pit seemed excited about. Magnus eyed at him, raising an eyebrow, but he should've expected that reaction: his angel friend was always cheerful, even in situations like these. The human admitted that he was jealous of that character; if only he too could stop worrying all the time, his life would be ten times easier. Magnus followed Pit and the God Zeus to the temple, glancing all around and hoping that these pictures, these memories he was making would always remain imprinted in his brain. The scenery was above what any words could describe, so he would not bother trying. All that he could tell is that it was one of a kind, one that nobody could ever forget—or so he wished. They passed through the doors of this enormous temple, only to be met with more golden… well, golden everything: statues, paintings, pillars, carpets… The most striking detail was the statue of Zeus, placed in the middle of the main hall, which showed just how egotistical those Gods really were. Magnus couldn't help but snort.

The God of Gods brought them along until they reached a room filled with very tall chairs. Magnus assumed that they had been built for the Gods, if he took into consideration Medusa's height. They were all probably as tall as she was. This room only held a dozen of chairs and a table, around which those golden seats were placed. Magnus knew it was a meeting room, perhaps that was what they called the Pantheon. Fortunately, there wasn't anybody in the room besides the three of them, so they would be able to talk in private. "Nice decoration, very… rich", Magnus commented.

"Glad that it meets your approval, mortal," Zeus replied, in a mocking tone, and Magnus gritted his teeth. Zeus then sat in one of the chairs, suddenly way taller than he had been until that point, and Pit bowed in front of him again. The God looked at them and snapped his fingers for two smaller chairs to appear next to them. Magnus nodded to thank him and sat down, eyeing at Pit who was trying to climb on his chair. Of course, it wasn't very high for Magnus since he was tall himself, but for Pit… The human chuckled and attempted to help him, only to realize that he couldn't touch him. That was when he remembered that, after all, Pit was a spirit, and thus couldn't be touched or held by a living being. Zeus laughed at the sight of the light angel struggling. "I should've known you'd need a smaller one."

 _"I'm fine, I'm fine!"_ Pit grumbled, then he pulled himself on the chair and sighed in relief when he succeeded. He sat on it and turned to face the God, sweating a little, which the two other men found rather cute. _"So, about that favor…"_

Zeus raised an eyebrow. "Are you making the conversation?" he asked, incredulous, before he laughed again. "No no no. I am supposed to start talking about it. But before that, where's your body, young angel Pit?"

Pit's wings fluttered down and he looked off to the side. His eyes filled with tears when he gave it a thought. _"In Skyworld, Medusa attacked Lady Palutena's palace and… We were defeated."_

"How unfortunate." After he had said that, Magnus glared at the God of the Gods, since he had dared to behave haughtily towards the burdened angel. The human thought about saying something, about telling Zeus to shut up and listen without being a douche, but he knew that would only make matters worse. If Magnus wanted Pit to stay by his side, to stay alive, they needed to find a body for Hades as quickly as possible. Zeus knelt down to get closer to the two friends, frowning. "What do you want me to do for you?"

Pit glanced at the God, a single tear running down his cheek. _"I had to bargain with Hades to help me come here, I couldn't let go… Pittoo is in danger, he's in the hands of Medusa because he was trying to save me. Lord Zeus, we… We crave for your help."_

Zeus' eyes widened; had he misheard him? "You said that you have made a deal with Hades, Pit?"

 _"Yes, I had to, Lord Zeus."_ The light angel nodded, ashamed of his own actions, however he knew that he didn't have a choice. If he had refused, nobody would have intervened, and Dark Pit would've been killed in trying to find a solution on his own—because Pit knew he wouldn't have given up no matter what it would have cost him. However, he couldn't allow that to happen, he cared way too much for his twin to let him die in his name. So, he was going to save him. _"He freed my soul from the statue, but in return I have to find a body for him. Maybe it's a lot to ask but… I was hoping you could lend a hand on that task."_

The God of the Gods rose to his feet, absolutely outraged by what Pit had told him. How could he have thought that he would help them find a body suitable for this monster? He couldn't believe his ears, how did he dare to come to his temple and ask him for help? Bargaining with Hades… was this angel out of his mind?! Zeus stomped his feet, startling the two friends who were sitting only inches away from them, and glared at the angel of light with such hatred, such wrath. Magnus stood from his chair, wanting to pull Pit by the arm before something bad happened, however he remembered too late that he couldn't touch him. So instead of that, he gave him a serious look. "Pit, we'll find another way. Let's go."

 _"But… Magnus, I… There's no other way, I can't give up now…"_

"He's not willing to help us," Magnus remarked, then he started walking out of the room. Zeus had turned his attention to the human but didn't move, narrowing his eyes at him with his fists clenched. Magnus spun around and eyed at Pit. "What are you waiting for? We don't have time to waste."

Zeus growled and stared at Pit. "If you dare to give Hades a body, I will have no choice but to kill you, Pit. Think about my words."

Pit gulped and jumped off of his chair, running to the side of Magnus. What did he expect? Of course Zeus was going to be furious at the perspective of giving another chance to Hades—Pit also was himself, so he wouldn't blame him. But couldn't he understand the crucial importance of finding a body for the Lord of the Underworld? If they didn't find one shortly, Pit would go back to his prison of stone—that was, if he was lucky. If he wasn't, he would just die, and that would be the end of the world since Medusa threatened to take over… With Palutena's absence, there was no way to stop her. Zeus had to be aware of that, didn't he? Pushing those thoughts aside, Pit looked up at Magnus as they walked closer to the Lightning Chariot, defeat lingering in his blue eyes. He had hoped for so much… Now what was left? He would never find a body strong enough to hold Hades' soul… It was so strong that any other would explode upon contact.

"Don't worry, angel. We'll figure out something," Magnus assured, convinced that they would find a solution sooner or later. He climbed in the Lightning Chariot, grabbed the halter, and waited for Pit to be on board. Once he was, he gently whipped Phos and Lux, which caused them to speed off of Mount Olympus.

The angel of light looked off to the side, watching as Mount Olympus faded away, into the distance. _"I don't know what to do now."_

Magnus glanced at him. "We save Pittoo. Hades can wait." Like he had expected, Pit refused to answer. He was probably already thinking about all the possibilities that were left. Magnus decided not to pay attention to it, leading the Lightning Chariot towards Skyworld, since he had yet to retrieve his Violet Palm—and maybe a soak in a hot spring would ease Pit's heart, although he was a spirit and there was a chance that he wouldn't even feel the water on his skin… Worth a try. He admitted that he hated the fact that Pit was silent; usually he talked all the time. He felt much more comfortable when he did, because he knew that was who he truly was within. Him not talking, him not laughing, him looking off, utterly depressed, was frightening in Magnus' opinion. So he decided to make small talk, in case it could wake something in the angel. "So, for how long have you been free?"

Pit looked back at him and a sheepish smile spread on his lips. _"Maybe… Seven, eight hours? Time isn't really… the same when you're a soul."_

"You told Pittoo?"

The angel's eyes shined when he mentioned his twin, though he said nothing of it. He instead simply answered the question he had been asked. _"I tried to tell him at first, when you guys were at Viridi's Sanctum, but I realized that he wouldn't listen… He was convinced that I was an illusion. So, instead, I showed him. I protected him from Medusa, which was enough to prove that I was really there—at least I hope."_

Magnus couldn't recall that to happen. "When was that?"

 _"You were unconscious,"_ Pit replied, then he sat back in the Lightning Chariot so that he could plunge his deep, delightful blue eyes in his human friend's. _"He was in trouble, he had been beaten up pretty badly by the Underworld baddies. Medusa pushed you two in a hot spring she had snapped into existence, and then he started to walk off with you. But she decided to attack him, I had to protect him."_

The human paused, then laughed. So that was what had happened, he should've known, how gullible could he be? Pit frowned at him and Magnus eyed at him with a strange, amused gleam in his eyes. He thought back about what Dark Pit had said, about the Underlings being 'unable' to beat him, and that was all the more hilarious. After a minute of intense laughter, he finally managed to breathe in and soothe down, under Pit's worried eyes.

Magnus shrugged it off, to signify that it was nothing important, but he knew from his gaze that Pit wanted to understand what had just happened. So the human cleared his throat and started to explain the reason behind his laughter: "Pittoo told me that he had defeated the Monoeyes on his own, and he seemed to play it off as if it had been easy. That's why I'm laughing. You know, when I think about it, I should've known he couldn't; after all, how could a small, harmless angel decimate an entire army of Underlings all by hims—" That was when he caught Pit's dangerous eyes on him. He scratched the back of his head and chuckled nervously. "Heh… Nevermind, ignore what I just said."

 _"Now I like that better!"_

The two friends soon arrived in Skyworld and Magnus stopped the Lightning Chariot only meters away from the two statues still standing in front of the palace. He hopped out of the chariot and walked straight towards the palace, while Pit stared at his own statue in desperation. Magnus turned to him, frowning, and noticed the sad gleam in his blue eyes. Soon the angel leaned forward and rested his forehead against his statue's, sniffing lightly. If his shaking body, his unsteady hands and his trembling lips meant anything, he was crying.

Magnus felt his heart shatter at the sight but chose to give him some time, going to fetch his Violet Palm in the armory of the palace. He had only been there once, with Dark Pit, and walking in the room felt way more painful than it should've. Glancing over the few shelves that held all the different weapons that belonged to Pit and the Centurions, Magnus almost teared up but managed to keep his tears contained. He could hear Dark Pit's voice echo in his mind, telling him not to touch the golden cannon for it was reserved to Pit and he was the only one he wanted to see using it ever, and also explaining that his Silver Bow was a prototype that the Palutena Bow was based off of. He could almost see him sitting in the chair next to the big, open window of the altar, with what looked like a blade in hand. He could see him caress it, his eyes glued to it while he explained it was called the First Blade and had been Pit's first weapon

There had been so much nostalgia, so much pain contained in his voice that Magnus couldn't even handle the memory of it. The human reached over to one of the shelves, taking his Violet Palm, and his eyes darted off to land on the First Blade, set aside all of the other weapons in the room, right next to that empty chair. Exactly where Dark Pit had left it, he could imagine the dark angel's fingers sliding along it.

Magnus breathed in slowly, trying not to focus on it, and stormed out of the room once he had everything he needed. He swore to himself that he would never walk in there again in his entire existence, because it was too painful, then walked towards the doors of the palace where he was sure to find Pit—except he didn't. The light angel was sitting afar, on that same bench that Dark Pit told him he hated. Magnus stepped up to him, wearing his Violet Palm, and noticed that Pit was looking down to the pavement, swinging his feet and grasping the edges of the bench. "Buddy, you're okay?"

Pit jumped and glanced up at the human, immediately wiping off his tears. _"I'm fine, I only need a little breather."_

"You're thinking about him, aren't you?" Magnus asked, even though he already knew the answer would be positive. Thus, he didn't wait for it and sat down next to the light angel, his eyes never getting off of him. Then he looked towards the sky, thinking about what he could say, whereas Pit seemed to be waiting. After a brief moment, the human eyed back at the angel. "When we arrived in Skyworld, I noticed that this bench had a special meaning for Dark Pit. He couldn't stop staring at it." Pit's heart jumped up at what he said, though he didn't say anything. He looked at Magnus with glistening eyes, tears about to drown his face again. Magnus collected his thoughts on the matter before he turned to the angel. "What's with this place? Maybe telling me the story behind this strange adoration would do you some good."

The angel of light winced at the thought, however he complied. _"We used to meet up here,"_ he began, feeling his voice break even though he had barely started. He bit his lower lip, a tear rolling down his left cheek. _"Usually, he'd be reading stories. He loves books, you know, he reads a lot, and… I would always come and see what he's up to, and we'd read together—or more so, he'd read for me to listen. His stories are always so sad, they always end with people dead. When I said that it was horrible, he told me that it was Life, that terrible things happened all the time for people who loved each other. He said… He said that, sometimes, fate was unfair with nice people. Now I understand why he said that, all too late though…"_

"Not too late," Magnus countered. He had a serious expression, eyebrows frowned. "Dark Pit is still alive. He's waiting for you, you know? You can't just give up, that's not how it works. Life can be really unfair, but fight it while you still have the chance. Once he's gone, there's nothing you will be able to do, so make sure he makes it."

Pit sniffed and sobbed, resting his head on Magnus' shoulder. His fingers wrapped around his friend's hand as he wept the absence of his beloved twin, that he believed he had lost forever. All that he had ever wanted was to hear a good story, one that ended well. He had hoped that, if Dark Pit didn't read one to him, then instead they could live it together… Pit sobbed, disillusioned. _"Magnus, I just wish our story could be less sad than all those that he kept reading."_

"Sometimes, you have to go through horrible events to be victorious," Magnus said, as reassuring as he could be despite the circumstances. Then he stood up, folding his arms, and glanced at the weeping angel sitting on the bench. "He needs us now."

 _"What about Hades?"_ Pit asked him, wiping his face with his arm and sniffing. He raised his head and his eyes met his statue, standing in the distance. _"What do we do about his body? I don't know how much time I can live outside of my body…"_

Magnus shrugged one shoulder. "As I said, we'll—"

 _"WAIT!"_ Pit exclaimed, his face lit with realization. He jumped on his feet and ran towards the palace, much to Magnus' confusion, before he reached his body buried beneath coats of heavy stone. His eyes ran along the silhouette, which was rather… unsettling, since he was looking at his own being, and he swore to it that he would retrieve it very soon. Eventually Pit spun around to look into Magnus' curious, yet concerned dark eyes. _"We have the body we need right here, we don't need to look any further!"_

The human frowned. "What even—? Pit, we're doing this so that you can have your body again. What's the point of giving it to Hades?"

 _"Not that one!"_

Magnus blinked and realized what he had meant. His eyes darted towards the statue of the Goddess of Light, still imprisoned in stone, and he gulped; what a terrible, terrible idea… But what other option did they have? It was true that they had no idea how long it would take to find a fitting body for the Lord of the Underworld, and Pit's soul couldn't be left wandering around eternally: it would eventually fade into nothingness. The human shut his eyes, thinking that he just about had experienced every strange thing that he could've had in his lifetime, and looked back at Pit with a slight nod.

The angel of light looked at his Goddess' body and whispered _"Sorry"_ to it before he called out Hades. He quickly explained that he had a body he could fit him, making sure to stay close to Palutena's lifeless form. There was no sign that the Ruler of the Underworld had even heard him, until the stone around Palutena's fingers crumbled. Pit jerked up and moved back, closer to Magnus. They both watched in horror as the stone covering the body of his Goddess broke and fell to the ground, revealing a Goddess of Light… that was a lot darker-looking than Magnus would've hoped. The human pushed Pit behind him in case she would attack them, but instead the Goddess laughed and looked at herself through a glass that she had created in a snap of her fingers. "Oooh~! Now Pitty Pat, if that isn't the sweetest of gifts!" Palutena cheered.

Magnus frowned, perplexed, and the angel of light stood behind him in shock. _"Hades?"_ Pit asked. _"I expected your voice to change or something… You sound just like Lady Palutena."_

"Which is a delight!" the Goddess beamed, then she stared down at Pit. "Now let me go: 'Pit, the world is in danger!'"

Pit's wings jerked up. _"Hey, stop!"_ he cried out, angered by the ridiculous impersonation of Palutena that Hades was giving. _"She doesn't speak like that!"_

Palutena chuckled, brushing her fingers through her straight, ultra long green hair. "It's her voice, Pitty, of course she speaks like that! Anyways, a deal's a deal: you can have your body back! Though I must say, I think I'll miss your echo-y voice, Pitty Pat!"

 _"My voice isn't echo-y! It's_ ghostly _!"_

"Oh~, right, my bad~!"

The possessed Goddess of Light chuckled and snapped her fingers. Pit's soul suddenly tensed and fought against an imperceptible gust of wind, before he was sucked into his statue. Magnus was about to panic, thinking that they had been deceived, when he picked up the familiar sound of crackling stone. The human rushed to the seemingly lifeless statue and helped break down the stone with strong punches in the crumbling parts. Pit wasn't saying anything on the other side, which was anything but a good sign, and thus Magnus hurried to get him out of there. Was he still alive? Did he make it through? He had been stuck in stone for roughly twenty hours… Maybe his body had died.

Gulping down his worry because he had no time to focus on it, Magnus punched the chest of the statue, shattering the rock until he managed to split it in half. He quickly moved back to avoid Pit's blades from cutting into his arms, and Pit's body fell to the ground, completely limp. Magnus was barely reactive enough to catch it. The angel was unconscious but warm, which was awfully reassuring.

Palutena glanced down at Pit and shrugged, a smirk across the lips. "Aw, don't worry about him, he's fine! Although he won't feel good for a moment—just give him a minute or two. I must bid you adieu, dear human, I've been longing for a new body and can't wait to try it out in… numerous fabulous ways!" The newly possessed Goddess of Light then walked back to her palace, playing with her hair and laughing to herself.

Magnus held Pit in his arms, pulling him on his lap and unconsciously running his fingers through his messy hazel hair. "More problems. Perfect."

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 _To be continued…_

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 **Updated: 02/11/2019**


	17. Chapter 16: Regaining consciousness

_**Hi again my friends! I hope you are doing just fine. Once again, this story's been pretty easy to write, so I have many chapters in advance, already fully written. Hopefully you will like all of them, because I'm really enjoying myself! :)**_

 _ **Tell me what you think in the comments!**_

 _ **Until next time,**_

 _ **Yours truly, Circle of J.**_

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 **Disclaimer: ****I do not own the characters from the Kid Icarus series. The deities mentioned are taken from Greek Mythology, remastered the way I imagine them. What I own, on the other hand, is the plot.**

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 **Kid Icarus: Heirs of the Light**

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 _Chapter 16: Regaining consciousness_

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Pit blinked, moaning in pain, dazzled by the sudden light in his eyes. He couldn't remember anything… Why did his head hurt so much? He was somewhat groggy… He also felt so thirsty, as though he had stayed hours without drinking a single drop of water… And he had to say that he was rather hungry too. However, even if he'd have wanted to get some food, he couldn't move his body. His arms were glued to the bed he rested in, and his legs were heavier than they'd ever been in the past.

What was going on with him? Where was Palutena? And what about Dark Pit? Dark Pit… Their last encounter hadn't been the best, had it? He recalled being yelled at… Did he manage to hold him back? No, probably not. He had wanted to tell him about the way he felt, he could remember that… But did he do it? Somehow, he hoped he hadn't; he wasn't sure yet. He didn't want to ruin their friendship that took so long for them to establish…

"Pit-too…" Pit's voice died instantly after he pronounced his twin's name, much to his dismay. He felt so weak… So worn out… Pit moaned again, this time succeeding at moving his fingers. Though he still couldn't really see his surroundings through the clouds in his vision… What had happened? He could almost hear the Centurions' cries for help again, and that sent shivers down his spine. Medusa had attacked Skyworld, now he remembered it clear as day. She had turned his army into stone, and claimed that she would do the same thing to Palutena… Did he step in? No, he'd be engulfed in stone if he had… So did he let his Goddess down? How could he ever do that?

The light angel tried to sit up in the bed, although a throbbing pain in his chest made him wince and lay back down. Now he recalled: he had been hit three times by Medusa's lightning. She had said that only one of her bolts of lightning would be enough to turn even the strongest God into a statue, but he had survived three? Somehow, he felt sort of proud; what longevity! He admitted that he was impressed. Was his will of saving Palutena strong enough for him to handle three bolts and still be alive?

"You should drink something, Pitty Pat! I'm starting to have, well, _pity_ for you."

 _That voice…_ "La-dy…?" the angel of light croaked. That was the first time he heard his voice so… hoarse. It was so unlike him, he deeply loathed it… And what about Palutena? She wasn't herself: she would never speak that way, only one God would: Hades. Although he could have sworn that he heard his Goddess talk, he could recognize her voice amongst thousands… Something wasn't right. What exactly had happened while he was in that sort of… coma? Was it a coma, or did he just oversleep again? How long did it take him to wake up? Centuries? Because it sure felt like it… He pouted at the thought of all the food he might have missed out on if that were the case…

Steering him away from his thoughts, Pit felt a hand touching his shoulder, but he didn't have the strength to draw back; all he could do was moan in discomfort, with slit eyes, and feeling all the more dazed. Suddenly, more light was brought into his sore, dried-out blue orbs and he shrieked in pain, hurting his throat in the process. Pit coughed after that, his eyes filling with heavy tears he wasn't sure he could hold back any longer. "Cu-t it… C-ut it ou-t…" he begged under his breath, then he cleared his throat but nearly screamed in pain when he felt his throat literally tearing apart. He should've drank before doing that…

The hand on his shoulder moved back, which relieved the young angel, and eventually another voice spoke up: "I'm glad you're still with us, angel. I thought I'd have to go and get Pittoo alone."

"And everyone knows you couldn't have done it after the, must I say, _highly satisfying_ beating you two received in my Underworldy!" Palutena sneered—she seemed to be farther in the room than the other, husky voice that intervened. Pit frowned, almost certain that it reminded him of someone he knew… He barely managed to open his blue eyes again, tearing up because of the lightness of the room, and Palutena gasped and immediately ran off somewhere to his right. Few seconds later, the brightness had substantially decreased, much to Pit's delight since his retina was way too sensitive at the moment. "Is that better, Pitty? You're such a measly little bird, now aren't you?"

Pit furrowed his brows at the words the Goddess of Light directed towards him, however he only nodded and his eyes could finally focus, looking right into a pair of… dark, rough, yet deep and caring gray eyes… "M-agnus, is th-at you…?" he asked, incredulous, but he tried not to speak too loud—for his own sake more than anything. The figure leaning above him seemed to have nodded, even though Pit wasn't sure through his still slightly blurry vision, and he felt two hands clinging to his shoulder softly. The angel tried to shook his weariness off, so that he could understand what was going on, and shut his eyes for several minutes. The figure above him hadn't moved, nor said a word, waiting eagerly—if he could tell by how firmly they held onto his shoulders—for him to look up again. When he did, his headache had become more bearable and he squinted his eyes. His eyes widened when he saw long, silky black hair, the red tattoos going down the silhouette's left arm, and a glowing stone around his neck.

"Magnus, it's really you!" Pit cheered, sitting right up and pulling the human in a warm, heartfelt hug. Magnus jumped, surprised, but happily greeted his lost friend and returned the favor.

"Aw, look at this cute little couple~!" Palutena looked at them with that sharp, amused expression in her glistening eyes, before she walked up to the bed with a pot containing boiling hot golden water. She had brought it from the hot springs of the palace and intended to heal the remaining injuries of the angel, since he had been of great help. Sure, Hades was not on the 'right side' of things, but he still had a heart, and seeing Pit in such a wretched state stung. Palutena sat down on the edge of the bed and leaned over, in order to pour the golden water on the angel's chest.

Pit winced and nearly cried out in agony, but he only gritted his teeth and grasped the bedsheets beneath his fingers. He squeezed them with all his strength until the intense pain finally wore off, and eventually opened his sapphire eyes again in order to eye at Palutena. "Don't think about thanking me, Pitty. I'm only redeeming my promise to give you back your body in full health!"

"What are you… talking about?" Pit inquired, narrowing his eyes and slightly shaking his head, bewildered. Then he darted a look towards Magnus, who sat next to them and silently watched Pit, a smile plastered on his lips. It seemed like he had missed him… Exactly how long had it been? Why was everyone looking out for him? And what… promise was Palutena talking about? And why did she remind him so much of Hades, his archenemy? Something was off, he felt it… Her attitude was out of character. Though he could hardly concentrate on anything, he was still sort of knocked out… Why did his head feel so foggy, as though… he had been out of his own body for a bit? It was absolutely impossible… right? And why was _this_ the first thing he thought about?

Refusing to lose focus on the current situation, Pit crawled towards the edge of the bed and his foot accidentally landed on the ground. He hissed at its coldness but tried not to show any of it. Instead, he got himself back on his feet and attempted to step forward, under the watchful eyes of Magnus. He nearly tripped but was caught by the human, who had somehow expected that to happen. How did he know he wouldn't be able to walk? Why wasn't he capable of doing that, by the way? None of this made sense… Where was Dark Pit? His Dark Pit… He missed him so much, he had to find him… He had to be reading, sitting on that bench they often met at… Pit had no time to waste; he needed to see him, for his own comfort. "Slow there, angel. You can't expect to be back on track before a good while," Magnus said, bringing Pit closer to his chest so that he didn't try to take another step.

"Magnus, I can do this. I'm a hero, and all heroes can walk on their own," Pit claimed, then he slightly pushed away the human, nearly losing his balance. He rapidly flew his arms to the side to stabilize, and noticed just how wobbly his legs were. What had happened to him? "What's happened to me, Magnus? Why do I feel so weak and… out of it? I've never felt so strange in years!"

Magnus frowned at the question and scratched the back of his arm. Of course he wouldn't remember… He looked anxious all of a sudden, and it frustrated Pit not to know why. "Well, it makes sense, doesn't it? You've been a statue for twenty hours or so, so don't expect your body to feel amazing after that. It took you a good week to wake up, but at least you did; anybody would've died if they'd been in your situation."

"Twenty hours? Statue?" Pit asked, perplexed, then he silently pieced everything together and his face turned pale. His big blue eyes widened in fear, and heavy tears flooded them. "So we didn't win…"

Palutena turned towards him and a smirk grew on her lips; except that it was unnatural, it looked terrible on her. Pit stepped back when it caught his attention, for he was worried by her attitude. The Goddess didn't get up from the bed, still holding the empty pot sitting on her lap. "Indeed! You were _brutally_ defeated, boohoo! What did you expect, Pitty?"

"How are you still alive, Lady Palutena? Did I save you?"

The Goddess of Light purred at the way the sweet, little innocent angel had called her, then she rose to her feet and walked closer to Pit. He could get used to this special affection in no time~… Did Pit not notice that he was not speaking with his pretty Palutena? Did he not pick up the very… specific way Hades talked? Was he seriously _that_ oblivious? Somehow, Hades felt sorry for Palutena, since she had Pit as the captain of her army and yet he was so gullible… He must be a pain to deal with. The possessed Palutena leaned in and took Pit in a hug, waiting to see if Pit would return it or if he'd realize something wasn't right. To her delight, the angel of light hugged her tight and started sniffling. "Aw, you poor little Pitty Pat! You've just woken up in a world _mildly_ different from the one you think you know!"

"What even…?"

"Enough, Hades, stop messing with him."

Pit's eyes squinted at Palutena, completely taken aback by Magnus' words, and asked in a rather accusative way: "H-Hades?!"

Magnus quickly stood up and pulled Palutena back, grabbing Pit's wrist and storming out of the room before Hades could keep toying around with Pit's head. The angel was about to fight back, wiggling his arm so that he could break free, but the human managed to bring him outside of the palace. Magnus turned around to place his hands on his shoulders, in an attempt to both reassure the angel and force him to stay still. He held on tight, thus making sure that Pit would not run back inside, and his eyes locked with the blue, watery lakes in front of him. Pit was scared, puzzled, and exhausted despite the fact that he only opened his eyes a few minutes earlier. He didn't need Hades to confuse him even more.

Before Magnus had time to speak up and sum up the situation for him, Pit recoiled and took a step back. Tears flowed down his angry, horrified face, leaving wet trails along his reddening cheeks. The angel wasn't stupid, far from it: he had read between the lines. All had clicked in his brain when Magnus called Palutena by the name of the Lord of the Underworld. He clenched his fists, trembling like a leaf, and turned away to run back into the palace before the human pulled him towards him. Pit squirmed, trying to push his arm off of him, and started to sob with how much rage he felt boiling inside of him. "Let me go, Magnus!"

"Let me tell you: I can't do that, so quit fighting back," Magnus replied, then he grasped Pit's wrist with his free hand. "You have made a deal with Hades, there's nothing we can do now."

"A deal with Hades?" Pit asked, even more bewildered, and his eyes widened in shock. He shook his head negatively, panting loudly. "N-No, I would never!"

Magnus sighed and insisted: "Pit, we have to go, there's nothing that can be done for her."

"I can't lose Lady Palutena!" Pit retorted, growling like a stray animal on the hunt, while he kept fighting back anyways. "I can't lose her, Magnus, she's my everything! I can't just… I can't just leave her alone in this situation, I am her captain! I am her _champion_!" Although it hurt him to ignore those words, Magnus refused to let go of Pit, instead pushing him towards the Lightning Chariot, which was only a few feet away from their position. The human lifted Pit in his arms while the angel attempted to kick him off, and sat him in the chariot. Pit shook his head, trying to get out of the chariot, and that was when he saw the bench. It was abandoned, Dark Pit was nowhere in sight. Pit's eyes widened with fear, and he became even more desperate to push off Magnus. But despite his efforts, the human also hopped in the Lightning Chariot, grabbed the unicorns' leathery halter, and was about to whip them. Pit's heart started screaming, and he couldn't help but plead, tears streaming down his face: "Please, please Magnus! I have to save Lady Palutena!"

"Pit—"

"Where's Pittoo? Where is he, Magnus?!" Pit interrupted him, panic taking over him. He didn't give him the time to answer before shaking him by the shoulders. The Chariot rocked along with the movement, from left to right, and the angel clung to Magnus' shirt, his blue eyes filled with desperation. The feeling of loss overwhelmed him, he needed to know the whereabouts of his beloved twin. If he didn't, he would lose it. Due to Magnus' long, heartbreaking lack of response, Pit started sobbing and his hands squeezed the human's shirt even tighter. No… He couldn't believe that Dark Pit was dead… His Pittoo, he couldn't die, it was impossible. He would never allow it. "WHERE IS PITTOO?!" Pit insisted, his voice cracking up in the process.

The human only shook his head and looked off into the distance, in order to avoid Pit's grief-stricken eyes; he would lose his mind if he dived into them. After a moment of pure silence, only filled by Pit's occasional sniffs and sobs, Magnus whipped the unicorns. Phos and Lux were at first quite reluctant, since their master was screaming at Magnus to stop, but they decided to comply nonetheless and stormed off of Skyworld. Pit looked daggers at Magnus, about to explode and yell at his face, demanding answers right away, but he refrained and only breathed heavily. His fury cooled down in no time, replaced by sorrow, and the angel of light turned away from the human next to him. He folded his arms, hugging himself tightly, and let his tears roll down his cheeks without holding them back.

Magnus eyed at him, heavy-hearted, but he knew he couldn't tell him what had happened to Dark Pit; they didn't know if he was still alive, and he didn't want Pit to know that he was in the hands of Medusa… Who knew what kind of torture she could've put the darker twin through before he died? Pit didn't need to know… He didn't need to imagine it, to dread it: Magnus wished he could keep his innocence for the time being. They'd have time to discover what had happened to Dark Pit, since they were heading back for the portal. But first, they needed to drop by at Viridi's Tree, to grab a weapon for Pit—he seemed to have forgotten his Palutena Bow, but Magnus didn't blame him; the poor soul was so wretched that he had not thought of it.

Once the Tree came into view, Magnus ordered the unicorns to slow down. Pit raised his head at that, and watched in horror the spectacle before his eyes. It appeared that he hadn't seen the state of the Sanctum—or whatever it was, maybe Sanctuary?—after the Goddess of Nature was killed off. Dark Pit had briefly told Magnus about it, scarcely but that had been enough for him to understand. When he was still part of the Overworld, he had mentioned that attack, the fact that he had been brought down by the Goddess. Magnus could understand the pain of losing a close friend, so he slowed the Chariot even more when he saw the look in Pit's eyes. He needed some time to register what he was seeing.

"So this is what became of it?" the angel of light asked, more to himself than to Magnus, then he looked over his shoulder to plunge his deep, destroyed blue eyes in the human's. "Viridi really… didn't make it, did she?"

Magnus' eyes lit with sorrow, and he shook his head negatively. "Dark Pit had said that she used her last powers to fly him off of the Sanctuary."

"I saw it, I was there when it happened," Pit said, much to the human's surprise. His blue eyes turned back towards the Sanctum and examined it. The large branches falling down, dead, the carpet of dry leaves, the… lack of light, the smell of a burnt forest… He felt very unsettled by the vision he had before him. The rare times he had been visiting Viridi's Sanctum, it had always been full of life, colors, smells, animals wandering around the different trees freely… And what he remembered the most was the light: a golden-green shade, sometimes crossed with pink and purple undertones during the evening. He had always been fond of it, and seeing it gone in a snap was… wrecking his entire soul. Pit took a deep breath, shutting his eyes and trying to obliterate the image from his memory. He wanted to remember Viridi's Sanctum as a place of wonders, not as a broken mess… "I just… I wish it had remained as wonderful as it had been in the past."

"Well, since the Goddess of Nature is dead, withering is to be expected."

"Doesn't mean I have to like it…" Pit whispered under his breath, tears filling his eyes again when he thought back about the events. "Why did everything have to change, Magnus? It was… perfect before: Lady Palutena was on our side and Pittoo always helped me out… Viridi, she was constantly protecting him from the Underworld…"

Magnus frowned at those words. "Why did she have to protect him?"

Pit gulped down his sorrow as he started explaining: "The Underworld wanted to recruit him, but they were not the only ones; Poseidon, Hermes and Zeus also craved for his servitude. Viridi had promised to Lady Palutena and I that she would keep him safe, away from those threats… Although she didn't like him at first, she felt like she had to protect him, for our sake… And in the end, I think she had started to enjoy his company." Pit laughed at the memories of the little Goddess of Nature always asking to be cautious with Dark Pit, and blush wildly whenever Palutena mentioned her possible crush on the dark angel. Why did everything have to change? Why must peace and friendship always be replaced by darkness and danger? He sighed at the thought. "I miss them all dearly… You think we'll save them, Magnus? You think we can save Lady Palutena, Pittoo and Viridi?"

"I'm afraid it's too late for Viridi, but we still have a chance for the others."

The light angel nodded and looked down, mourning the loss of his friend. Viridi hadn't always been the best Goddess around, but when you really dug within her soul, she was pure and affectionate. He would remember her always, and would keep fighting and repelling the darkness until the last one of his breaths. For her sake: that was what she would've wanted.

The human glanced over to the Sanctum and stopped the Lightning Chariot once they had reached its main hall. He jumped down and made sure that the wood beneath him was steady, since he wasn't exactly feeling safe in this setting. He didn't have wings on his back; if the floor fell, he would too. He pulled two carrots from a sack that he had brought with him, filled with other vegetables to feed the unicorns. Phos and Lux widened their eyes at the sight of the food and couldn't wait to engulf it. Pit, on the other hand, had just managed to come down, glancing around with true, sincere concern glued to his face. Magnus wanted to ask him if he'd be alright, but thought that it was probably a stupid question. Instead, he petted the two unicorns and said: "We're here to get weapons, so head right for the armory."

"Weapons?" Pit asked, raising an eyebrow, and he slowly turned towards Magnus. "Why do we need weapons, Magnus? Is there really something to fight for?"

The human looked back at him, a little smile in the corner of his lips. "Well, didn't you want to save Pittoo and Palutena?"

The angel of light's face lit up with a huge grin, before he ran towards the armory of the Sanctum. Magnus wondered how he knew where it was located, but just thought that he might have talked about it with Dark Pit—since they both liked weapon talks. It appeared to him that the two angels were quite the fighters; besides their obvious love for fighting in general, they always seemed to look forward to battles of any kind. He could hardly believe that he had gotten Pit excited by mentioning the fact that they were going to fight to find Dark Pit, but he'd take it. As long as the angel wasn't crying over the loss of his precious Goddess of Light anymore, it suited him fine. Magnus hated to see those tears in those sapphire orbs.

Magnus looked at the two unicorns, who were staring, concerned, at the door that closed on their master. The human smiled softly and caressed their hair with great care. Phos neighed at him to manifest his approval, however Lux couldn't take his eyes off of that door. "Hey, it's okay. You know Pit, he can take care of himself. He's very strong, now isn't he?" Magnus whispered, only to earn the pleased, reassured glances of the magical horses. "Good, then don't you worry. He's a big boy, and you two need to relax. We're going to save your dark master, for that you need to be ready; the journey will probably be long and exhausting."

Interrupting Magnus' small talk with the horses, Pit came back with a palm on his arm, which looked very natural, and a blade that the human was sure he had seen somewhere. Then it clicked; it was that one blade Dark Pit had used against the giant wolf in the forest. A smile spread on his lips, since now he understood why Pit had chosen to use this one and not any of the others that Dark Pit owned and stored there: he wanted to be reminded of his twin's presence. "Cute," he said, louder than he'd have wished, and Pit instantly raised his head to glance at him with curiosity.

"Did you say something?" he inquired, squinting his eyes, before he smiled too and looked down at the blade he held in his left hand—was he ambidextrous? Had he always been and Magnus had just never paid attention? Pit observed him with a raised eyebrow after he had put his weapons aside, in the Lightning Chariot, in order to be more comfortable. "What's wrong? You're staring at me."

Magnus cleared his throat and furrowed his brows. "I just realized how crafty you are: you are ambidextrous!"

Pit blinked, stared, blinked, and stared; Magnus admitted that he was incapable of interpreting his expression at the moment. The angel laughed nervously, rubbed the back of his head, ruffing his hair in the process. Then he bit his lower lip, looking at the floor, before he inhaled and opened his mouth, about to say something. Needless to say, no words came out of his mouth before he closed it again, embarrassed.

Magnus frowned, wondering if he had said something wrong, then he understood that Pit didn't know what ambidextrous meant! After all, Dark Pit had always sneered about how his 'stupid' twin couldn't read and wasn't very good with big words; the human should've known what the problem would be. "It means you're equally good with your two hands."

"Oh, how would you know?" Pit replied, his cheeks suddenly turning red when he realized what he had said. Magnus' heart skipped a beat and he laughed out loud; did he just—? The angel of light laughed along, though quite humorlessly, then smiled sheepishly. "Forget I said anything!"

"You're not getting away with that one, angel," Magnus laughed, slightly blushing himself.

"Oh yeah I am!" Pit stated, looking away, ashamed. He fidgeted with his fingers, before he trailed his left hand up and scratched his elbow.

Magnus could see just how uncomfortable he was and decided to let it slide. If he was being honest with himself, he had to say that… For a while, he had considered it; _them_. He had been willing to tell Pit about it, but in the end decided that it was better if they weren't involved in a relationship. It'd have been too complicated: a human and an angel, who, moreover, was always on duty and at the service of his Goddess. Magnus admired that in him, but he knew that he would not handle it in a relationship; he needed someone who stayed with him. Yes, it was comforting to know that his other half would be able to defend himself, but at the same time… They'd see each other way too rarely in his taste.

Shaking off the thought, Magnus glanced at the light angel as he made his way past him, heading towards that door that Dark Pit had stared at the only time he had been there before. Curious, the human took a few steps forward, listening in case Pit would say anything. Pit trailed his hand along the wooden door, his back tensed up and his wings brought closer to his body, as though shielding him. He shook from head to toe, and eventually sighed. "You didn't know how much I love you…" he whispered under his heavy breath, before he spun around and met Magnus' eyes. Although he wasn't showing any sign that he was about to cry, the human could decipher his intense, overwhelming sadness in his sapphire orbs. However, Pit waved his hand and looked off to the Lightning Chariot. "Maybe we should move, Pittoo has to be waiting, wherever he is."

"He probably isn't expecting you to save him," Magnus said, looking dead serious, then he folded his arms. Once the angel had walked over to him, about to hop in the chariot, he turned to him. "He probably thinks it's over for him—if it isn't already."

Pit lowered his head, feeling guilty, and gulped down his regrets. He couldn't focus on those; Dark Pit needed him, he felt it deep within himself. Their connection was still as strong as ever, he could detect Dark Pit's distress. He was sure that he would even be able to do it if his twin had been stuck in the Underworld, because of how powerful their link had grown to be. The angel of light blinked, coming back to reality, and eyed at Magnus who stood next to Lux. "You haven't told me where he is, but I assume you know. Can you please tell me? Please… I beg you, don't tell me Medusa caught him."

Magnus nodded and jumped in the Lightning Chariot. Then he wouldn't, but since he had no will to lie to Pit, he had to just keep quiet. He leaned in to see if the halter was tightened and gently whipped the unicorns, telling them to go where they had picked him up; they both understood and didn't need to be told a specific name for the location. Pit frowned at the secrecy but dared think that it was only because the human couldn't remember the name of the place. It was better to think that, for his own sake. Since he refused to think that Dark Pit could be imprisoned somewhere, he thought instead that he could be roaming around the Overworld, minding his own business and being a douche to humans, like he often was—mainly to Magnus, for whatever reason. Sometimes, Pit wondered if he wasn't a little jealous of the close friendship that he and the human shared, but he shrugged it off. Probably not, Dark Pit didn't have such feelings towards him, and he had made it quite clear when they last encountered each other before the attack of Viridi's Sanctum.

The Lightning Chariot took a turn, hovering over the waterfall that he could recognize amongst thousands of others. That was the place where Dark Pit had suddenly disappeared! Pit remembered it clearly: they went to the waterfall until Dark Pit found a gap. Sneaky as he always was, he decided to hide in it, to trick Pit into thinking he had left. But the light angel had seen him, and suddenly had jumped in the cave. Dark Pit had startled, recoiling, and… that was when he had vanished. Immediately, Pit had started looking for him, concerned, and his twin had soon reappeared out of the blue! Pit smiled when he remembered how worried he had been; his feelings were now so obvious to him. At the time, it hadn't seemed like much, but with time, they had grown stronger. Gazing upon this waterfall, surrounded by its gorgeous natural habitat, warmed his heart in an instant. He really loved this place, even more when he was there with Dark Pit. They'd sit next to the waterfall, at the very top of the cliffs, and read a story together in the sunset.

Pit hummed, remembering the soothing sound of Dark Pit's voice as though it was filling his ears at that very moment. Sweet memories that he'd never get enough of…

Magnus cleared his throat and Pit snapped out of his trance-like state. He blinked and looked down as they approached the gap underneath the waterfall, eager to be there again and touch the warm, yellow stone with his feet. He instinctively grabbed onto Magnus' hand, grinning wide when they steered the Lightning Chariot all the way up to the cave. Magnus lightly blushed and held Pit's hand, delighted by the sudden affection. He wished to hold it forever, but he knew that it would eventually slip out of his grasp to entwine with Dark Pit's. However, he was not jealous: as long as Pit's smile continued to illuminate the world around them, he would be fulfilled. He'd need to be blind not to see Pit's glistening eyes every time he looked into those of his darker twin, and all that he ever wanted to see in them was there, in that moment.

The Lightning Chariot pulled to a full stop, a few inches away from the cave, and Pit looked at Magnus with gleaming eyes. Since it was a bright day outside, they decided to settle down a little in the cave. They had a little time for themselves, and Magnus intended to enjoy it. He had missed chatting with Pit. The light angel sat close to the entrance of the cave, his feet in the air and swinging them, sometimes getting them wet since the waterfall was so close. Every time he did, he laughed and shook his foot, hoping that it would dry his sandals. Magnus would laugh as well and tell him that he should be more careful, only for it to happen again less than five minutes after.

Pit's eyes shone with the reflection of the sun and the glowing water. "And then Pittoo just pushed me off the top of the waterfall because I hugged him. Oh! But don't you worry, I wasn't harmed! Pittoo would never hurt me, I know it. I splashed into the spring below, and quite frankly, the fall was thrilling! Have you seen the wildlife here? I should show you someday, after we've saved Lady Palutena. Honestly, the diversity here would make Viridi's Sanctum jealous—even more so now, when I think about it," Pit told him, adding hand gestures to his story to make it feel more alive.

Magnus smiled brightly and listened to him thoroughly, trying at the same time to understand his own feelings. He had never been attracted to the same gender, so how could it be? Was it love, or just a strong friendship? He couldn't tell at this point; all that he knew was that he wanted Pit's smile to stick to his face for the longest time. Whether or not he was to be the source of this smile, he couldn't care less. He thought back about Gaol, and the way he behaved with her when she was still alive; he had felt the same way about her. In the end, he'd been the happiest man alive when she had accepted to be with him. Though he didn't want to share anything more than what they already had with Pit, so… Maybe friendship, after all.

"Magnus, I feel like I've been talking to myself this whole time," Pit called him out, slightly frowning, his hands on his thighs. He had his back to Magnus, but looked over his shoulder with a slight smile still glued to his lips. With the brightness coming from the other side of the waterfall, it made him really pop out, and his wings seemed to Magnus even more majestic than they usually were. He was faced with a real angel, in his magnificence. "Magnus?"

"I was thinking that, maybe, we should move on," the human answered once he shook off the thoughts creeping up in his mind. He pulled himself up, turning towards the wall at the bottom of the cave, and turned to look at Pit. The angel was wringing his sandals, looking focused, before he sighed and put them back on his feet. He slightly bounced, readying himself for wherever they'd have to go next, and shot a confused glance at his human friend. "It's this way, Pit."

"Oh, so we're heading in whatever Pittoo found that one time!" the light angel beamed, bouncing in excitement. He placed his laurel crown on his head, made sure that it was perfectly straight—he was very serious with that, from what Magnus had seen—and eyed at his friend with bright, joyful blue eyes. "I'm making sure I look outstanding! We're gonna find Pittoo!"

"You're always outstanding, Pit."

Pit's cheeks turned slightly red and he looked off to the side, embarrassed. He fidgeted with his hands, then eventually stepped forward. "Yes, maybe, I know. But I need to be at my _best_!"

"Whatever you say, angel."

The said angel grinned and walked past Magnus, heading towards the wall that closed the cave. The human shook his head, amused, and followed him right away to make sure that he would not lose track of him. Being left alone in the Underworld would be the worst that could happen to both of them. Even though Pit didn't know what was behind that wall, he had the feeling that he shouldn't head in there without being cautious nonetheless. His gut never lied to him, so he chose to listen and stay close to Magnus, no matter what may happen to them. That decision was confirmed by Magnus, who walked up to him and said: "Make sure not to go too far, we'll need to stick together."

Pit nodded, determined, and held onto the Rose Blade that he held in his left hand. "I'm so ready for this!"

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 _To be continued…_

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 **Updated: 02/11/2019**


	18. Chapter 17: The fire in your eyes

_**Hello my friends! I come to you with great news: the time has come! What all of you had been waiting for is coming up in this very chapter! Tell me what you think of it :) It's a chapter that I've grown to like, even though at first it wasn't my favorite of the bunch—still isn't, I have a huge preference for chapter 29, you'll see that in the future. But I still think that this one has something special, an atmosphere perhaps. Don't hesitate to give me your feedback.**_

 _ **Anyways, I shall leave you be! You have probably noticed yesterday that I updated all chapters. No panic! The story hasn't changed ;) It's mainly that I added some lines to the 'Disclaimer' section, and also that I corrected some of the easily noticeable mistakes on the way.**_

 _ **See you next time, R &R, it's always a pleasure for me!**_

 _ **Yours truly, Circle of J.**_

 _ **PS: I will also update the other chapters with warnings, like the one below, if I see fit. :)**_

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 **/!\ Warning: Mild gore elements /!\**

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 **Disclaimer: ****I do not own the characters from the Kid Icarus series. The deities mentioned are taken from Greek Mythology, remastered the way I imagine them. What I own, on the other hand, is the plot.**

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 **Kid Icarus: Heirs of the Light**

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 _Chapter 17: The fire in your eyes_

* * *

It had been four days. Four whole days, marching towards where Pit believed Medusa's castle was located. Four days barely eating anything, barely sleeping since they kept being woken up by scary shrieks in the distance. Magnus admitted that he was worn out, he couldn't even stand on his legs. Thus they had to hide in one of the different, weirdly comforting caves that the Underworld held. Pit was not too pleased by the idea of making Dark Pit wait longer, but he had no choice, since he himself had trouble keeping it together. The lack of food was going to be the end of them if they didn't find a solution very soon. Pit seemed to have forgotten that, despite the magical necklace he was wearing, Magnus was still human. He needed to rest, he needed to eat, he couldn't constantly be on the move. Plus, the numerous fights were killing him slowly. He couldn't lift his sword anymore, he had to leave it behind, in one of the caves that they slept in one night. He could barely recall which one it was… At least he still had his Violet Palm. Pit told him that maybe he should go back to the Overworld, that it would be safer for him, but Magnus had refused to leave Dark Pit behind; he had promised the dark angel that he'd be back for him, and he intended to keep that promise.

Pit handed him the last piece of meat that he carried on him, looking off into the distance to make sure that no Underling was sneaking in their hiding hole. Magnus glanced at Pit, knowing that he hadn't eaten in two days already, and wanted to tell him to eat it instead. But he knew the angel wouldn't listen, he was so selfless that he would force the meat in the human's mouth if he dared to reject it. Wincing at the thought, Magnus grabbed the piece of meat out of the light angel's hands and munched down on it. Suddenly, Pit rose to his feet, faster than he'd have thought him to be with an empty stomach, and stormed towards the entrance of their cave. He scooped his Rose Blade while running to the entrance, and immediately slashed into a pair of Monoeyes that were about to give out their position to the crowd of Underlings constantly flooding the red sky. Fortunately, they hadn't had time to send a signal to their comrades, which reassured the angel. He sighed, exhausted, but didn't show any of it and set his Rose Blade against the wall next to the entrance. He sat there, or more so fell there, and moaned in fatigue. "I don't know how far we are from Medusa's castle," he said, raising his head and looking at Magnus. "Do you think you can make it?"

"Can you, Pit?" Magnus replied, concern plastered on his face. His eyes showed nothing but worry for his angelic friend; the last thing he'd want was for him to be killed. He munched down on his food, which was chicken, and glanced at the angel leaning against the wall to hold himself up. "I promised Pittoo that I'd be there for him, but you haven't. You can still leave me to it if you feel like you're not strong enough anymore."

Pit clicked his tongue at that and forced himself back on his feet. He brandished his Rose Blade, attaching it to his shoulder strap, and returned a look towards the human. He cocked his head to the side, then nodded towards the entrance. Magnus understood the message and rose to his own feet, following the light angel. To be fair, their path never seemed to lead anywhere, but Pit was confident that they were going the right way. They always ended up in a trap, or the road would just be cut before them—either by enemies or a gigantic cliff that Pit, being flightless, couldn't fly them over. Because of these situations, Magnus started to lose faith in ever finding Dark Pit. Oftentimes, his thoughts would drift off and he'd find himself believing that the darker version of Pit would be dead and his bones scattered in that ossuary before Pit and him arrived at the castle they longed for. However, he would shake himself out of it and listen to Pit as he guided them across the maze that was the Underworld, and thus he'd regain faith in everything and trust in his mission again.

Magnus winced when he stepped on a pointy rock along their path, though he made no fuss about it: he could barely feel his feet at all, so it didn't really matter. Pit glanced over his shoulder, briefly asked him if he was alright, and the human nodded before they kept on walking for another couple of hours. They didn't reach anything in particular, did not come across a single hot spring—which could've fixed them right up, but it seemed like all of them had been taken out by a mysterious force—but eventually found another shelter. Pit hid from the Monoeyes lingering there and dashed towards the cave they found. Magnus heard several slashes, and soon the cave was clear of any enemy and they could settle in. Pit squatted down, looked at what seemed like a pile of wooden sticks, and thought about making a fire, however Magnus told him it was no use. It was already very, very hot in the Underworld, the air was almost unbreathable with how thick it was. The angel nodded towards him and stood back up, much more energetic than the human was, before he guarded the entrance, like he always had to. Magnus lied down on the stone, feeling really uncomfortable, though he didn't have a choice. They hadn't thought about bringing mattresses—why would they have? The human felt dizzy and soon drifted off to sleep whereas Pit looked out, to make sure no enemy would creep in and attack them. He felt safe knowing that Pit would always be watching out; he knew he could trust him.

The angel glanced over his shoulder, noticed that Magnus was sleeping, and allowed himself to smile. It had been a long time… And he had missed doing it. He felt like they were getting closer, the evil presence was growing stronger. His eyes fell to his own shoulder, and he clicked his tongue; he had lost his medallion a while ago, at Dark Pit's old house, after he had to hide from the Centurions. He regretted the fact that he forgot it there… His outfit seemed incomplete without it, but what could he do about it? Somebody probably had found it and kept it for themselves, he would never find it again… And since it was a gift from Palutena, he couldn't exactly make another one… He had received it when he joined the Goddess' side, since before that he had been alone, working in his own corner to protect mankind. He smiled faintly at the memory: he was servant to no other than himself at that time. And his life was… strangely good. Of course, he would never give up his newfound life with Palutena, but he admitted that sometimes, he missed his old life. He didn't have a single care in the world, and everything was easier. Pit blinked and steered himself away from his thoughts when he heard a low mumbling not to far away. He listened carefully, trying to identify an enemy lurking in the shadows, when a Reaper came into view and rushed towards him instantly.

Pit jumped out of its trajectory, quickly grabbed his Rose Blade, and started slashing at the monster. The Reaper evaded his attacks and bit into his hip, to which the angel yelped and recoiled quickly. He didn't care for the blood gushing out of his open wound, but rather on how to take down the monster, who drew ever so closer to him. He moaned in pain, restrained in his movements because his hip hurt him too much for him to move rapidly and swiftly. Once the Reaper was close enough, Pit held out his right hand and vines erupted from the stone ground, wrapping around the arms and waist of the creature. It shrieked and tried to wiggle out of them, but the angel of light dashed to the side and slashed a long, precise cut in its neck. The skeleton head of the Reaper fell to the ground, soon followed by its body, still entangled in vines. Pit looked over to Magnus, who hadn't been woken up, and cried out at the intense throb on his side. He brought his hand to his wound and watched in horror as it was covered with blood. He needed to find a hot spring asap, or he would die from his injury. Forcing himself to stay standing, he glanced towards Magnus and hesitated to wake him up. Or should he go on his own? No, they needed to stick together, they agreed to it at the beginning of their nightmarish journey.

"Magnus, wake… up…" he whispered, wincing at the pain he felt for just speaking up. His legs were so wobbly that he knew he was about to collapse. But he also knew that, if he did, he wouldn't get back up. Pit moved closer to the wall next to him, using it for support, and eyed desperately at the human who opened his eyes on him. "Please, we… We need… to move… We've got to—"

"What happened to you?" Magnus asked, sounding absolutely terrified, then he jumped to his feet and rushed towards the wounded angel. He eyed at the open bite on his hip and gasped in horror. With how much blood the injury was spewing, Pit would soon pass out from blood loss… "What did this to you? Are you okay?"

"We have… to find a hot… spring…" Pit answered, starting to doze off, which was a very, very bad sign in Magnus' book. The angel almost fell, still pressing his left hand against his side so as to stop the blood from gushing out, but his efforts didn't seem to pay off: the lower part of his chiton was soaked red, and trails of blood streaked down his legs. Not to mention, blood was running between his fingers.

Magnus frowned and picked up the young angel, running out of their hiding hole. He kept running forward, hoping they would quickly come across a hot spring, however he had no luck whatsoever, they really appeared to have vanished. But the human refused to give up, not with a dying angel in his arms. Pit struggled to keep his eyes open, although it was visible that he was fighting to do it. Magnus desperately ran, moving forward, praying the Gods that he find a hot spring before it was too late. He couldn't afford to lose Pit, he wouldn't allow it. While he ran, he saw a cave in the corner of his eye, that seemed to be glowing in gold. He rushed towards it, not thinking twice, and avoided enemy fire as he did so. Pit had clung to one of his hands and his head started to lean backwards, even though he gritted his teeth and kept fighting off the urge to close his eyes. Magnus entered the cave, his eyes looking everywhere, and found the hot spring he had been looking for so thoroughly. He let out a relieved sigh and ran up to it, kneeling down next to it and dipping his hand in the sacred water… Except that there was none; it was an illusion, a projection. The human cursed and hurried back on his feet, holding Pit really tight and squeezing his hand. "Stay with me, angel," he almost begged him, and he kept on running forward.

Pit looked up at him with dangerously dazed blue eyes and let out a sigh of pain. In reality, he felt completely numb, but he wanted to reassure Magnus, so he faked still feeling pain in his body. His eyes started to close again, but he refused it, collecting his remaining strength and forcing them to open up again. In midst of Magnus' footsteps on the stone beneath his feet, Pit picked up a strange, brushing sound… As though something had moved through the air, like a bird. His heart was filled with happiness when he recognized the dark figure hovering over them, and he tried to held out a hand towards him. "Pi-t-too, it's… y-ou…" he managed to articulate.

Magnus immediately stopped in his tracks and looked above him, only to be greeted by a warm, loving smile. The dark angel allowed himself to land in front of them, smirking like his usual smugly self, then stepped closer to them and examined Pit's open wound. He winced at the sight, and turned to rummage through his pockets. He took out a bottle of golden water, opening the lid and throwing it to the ground with no care in the world. Dark Pit leaned forward, looming over the injury, and poured half of the golden water contained in the bottle on it. Pit's skin seemed to regain its color, and his eyes felt all the more alive. The wound soon disappeared, leaving there nothing but clean, brand new skin and flesh. Pit glanced at his twin and wrapped his arms around his neck, gesture to which Dark Pit couldn't help but smile. The dark angel looked up at Magnus and handed him the bottle of hot spring water. "You might need this, Magnus."

The human grinned widely and sprayed some of the holy water on his body, feeling it regain its original strength. That necklace was perhaps the best thing that had ever happened to him; he was growing quite fond of the wonderful feeling that flooded his body every time he was in contact with hot spring water. He gave the bottle, which still contained a bit of water, to Dark Pit and nodded. "Thank you. I didn't think I'd see you again, dark angel."

"Talk about bad luck!"

They both laughed along, until Dark Pit's eyes met the blues of his twin. He suddenly stopped laughing, diving right into those wide oceans and feeling himself drown in them—all on his own will. He blinked several times, shaking himself out of his trance, but felt Pit's hand grasping his own and entwining their fingers. Magnus could perceive heavy tears in the back of the dark angel's eyes as that happened, and soon Dark Pit couldn't refrain his smile. Pit jumped out of Magnus' hold, setting foot on the ground again, and immediately hugged his twin tightly, bringing him close to his pounding heart. The dark angel couldn't believe what was happening, him who had believed that he would die in this land. He silently looked over the cliff and nodded towards the Goddess of Love, who watched them with a large grin plastered on her lips. She waved at him, inviting him to keep following her, and Dark Pit darted a look towards Pit, that he had decided to hug back despite his hatred for physical contact.

Magnus frowned, confused, and turned around, only to realize that a woman wearing all pink was standing in the distance, at the top of a cliff. If he had to guess from the pinkish glow of Dark Pit's wings, she had been the one granting him the ability to fly up to them. But who exactly was she?

Pit let go of his twin and dived right into his red eyes. "I thought I'd never see you again."

"I know, I secretly still hope you hadn't, Pit-stain," Dark Pit smirked, folding his arms. Although he played it off as though he didn't want to see Pit, it was only his words that conveyed that impression, for his ruby orbs were shining brighter than the sun itself. Then his eyes shifted towards Aphrodite, who had finally decided to join them and stood right next to Magnus. When the human realized that, he jumped back and Pit startled. He was so nervous that he took out his Viridi Palm instinctively, aiming it towards the Goddess of Love, whom he thought would be an enemy creeping up behind their back.

Pit immediately lowered his hand and bit his lower lip, his heart racing in his chest from the fear. He quickly knelt down to express his respect and, at the same time, his deepest apologies. "Damsel Aphrodite!"

Dark Pit snickered at the sight. "Aw, Pit! Were you scared at the sight of a Goddess?"

The light angel glanced at him and frantically shook his head, despite the fact that yes, he definitely was scared in this place. He stood back up, not daring to look at Aphrodite since he was very uneasy. Instead, he focused on his darker twin. "No, I wasn't scared! She… just surprised me, that's all!" he assured, though his hands started shaking again as he took a peek around. "I have to be cautious at all times!"

"Mhm~, sure~!"

Pit blushed when he heard the seductive tone that his twin had used, and quickly turned away to hide his flushed face. Though, it wasn't the most effective method, since everyone could still see the red on his face. "S-Stop that! Not in front of Damsel Aphrodite, Pittoo!"

Magnus, along with Aphrodite, couldn't hold back their laughter. However, the Goddess of Love clasped her hands together, thus drawing the attention of the two angels, and cleared her throat. The light glimmer around Dark Pit's wings was starting to fade, and she knew she couldn't hold it back for much longer, or else his magnificent dark wings would burn up. The dark angel nodded, understanding the message, before he faced Pit and dared to take his hands in his own; although he felt definitely uncomfortable, he couldn't hide his feelings anymore. His lighter twin blushed at the gesture, delighted by the sudden affection, and moved closer to Dark Pit, leaning in to give him a kiss on the cheek. Dark Pit recoiled, as though the touch of his lips had burnt him, and quickly turned his back to him, walking alongside the Goddess of Love. Pit looked down, disappointed by the outcome, though he wasted no time and joined Magnus.

They headed towards the portal that they had went through to get there, guided by Aphrodite who seemed to know several shortcuts that would come in handy in due time. They didn't care for enemies, since Aphrodite could take them out in a snap, and instead talked about what Dark Pit had been through during his forced journey in the Underworld. He refused to mention the visions, but told them about being imprisoned in Medusa's castle and losing all hope of ever being found when his 'mother', the Goddess of Love, had appeared and led him outside. He explained that he felt like Pit needed his help and that it helped him fight through the endless streams of enemies that came at him, and that warmed the light angel's heart. When Magnus asked him how they had managed to find them, since the Underworld was gigantic and messy, Aphrodite answered that they just had to follow the lost feathers that Pit had left behind him.

The angel of light had scratched the back of his head at that, apologizing for giving away their position, since he assumed that it was what helped enemies to trace them. Magnus told him not to worry about it, that it was thanks to this shedding that they had been found and reunited with Dark Pit, and that seemed to be enough to ease his mind. Dark Pit never once looked directly into his lighter version's eyes, for he was scared of drowning in them. He had missed them so dearly that he knew how defenseless he would be if he met them. Somehow, he wondered if Pit remembered their encounters when he was… in his mind, but probably not. Perhaps he had really just been a trick of his brain.

Soon, the group had to stop, since Magnus was beyond exhausted by the endless walk. Dark Pit had snapped at him, told him to keep moving no matter what, but Aphrodite had agreed that they had spent a long time walking and that everyone needed to rest. Pit didn't say anything but helped Magnus on their way to one of the caves, to make sure that he would not fall down in exhaustion. The human told him that he shouldn't worry, to which Pit replied that he always worried for those he cared about. Thus being silenced, Magnus had nodded and walked, using Pit as a support since he didn't want to end up face first against the spiky stones on their path. The Goddess of Love led them to one of the caves, and Magnus' eyes widened: it was the one that he had forgotten his sword in. He asked Pit to sit him on the ground next to it, whereas Dark Pit snorted and mocked him for abandoning his weapon unattended.

The human smirked and reminded him of his lost Silver Bow; at least, it made him shut up. Aphrodite had taken Pit outside of the cave to talk to him and sum up the situation they were in, and the light angel appeared to be rather puzzled when he walked back in their hiding hole in her company.

Dark Pit sat on the ground, far away from everyone, and held onto his staff with anger; there he was again, witnessing Pit's growing interest for Magnus. He wished he could draw his attention somehow, however he had no idea how to do that. Pit was so focused on the conversation he was sharing with the human, his eyes twinkled brighter than the stars themselves. Although he couldn't hear what they were talking about, he presumed that it was absolutely amazing and thrilling. He never shared such conversations with Pit… Every time his lighter twin would talk to him, it'd be either uninteresting and boring, or Dark Pit would just look off to the side and tell him to go away.

The dark angel clicked his tongue, glaring at Magnus from his position; he had to say that they were happy together. Maybe he was good for Pit, maybe… maybe he was the person he wanted to be with. But then, what about his confession? Oh, right… It was his illusions that told him that Pit loved him, not the real Pit. Should he talk about it?

Aphrodite walked up to him, sitting down next to the dark angel, and looked up towards Pit and Magnus. She had noticed that something was wrong with Dark Pit, and had thought that it'd be a good idea to talk it out. She wasn't oblivious to the love glowing in those red rubies, far from it: that was one of the main reasons why he had been brought to this dimension. They, the Gods, knew that he would be the perfect candidate for their common mission. Now, she wasn't aware of what had happened in his life, he only had mentioned little of his past, but it was enough for her to understand that he clung to Pit as though he was his life preserver. The Goddess of Love put a hand on Dark Pit's shoulder, and he looked down at his feet. "Why do you let it happen if you hate it?" she asked him innocently.

Dark Pit groaned under his breath and shook his head. He could feel heavy, burning tears threatening to roll down his cheeks, and tried to hold them in. Even if Aphrodite was the incarnation of his mother, he couldn't show that he had a weakness. The dark angel clenched his fists and whispered: "Because they are perfect, look at them. I'm no match against Magnus, can't you see the love in Pit's eyes? For you, of all people, it should be more than obvious."

"Oh, it is!" Aphrodite smiled widely, and he wanted to punch her in the face after she had said that. He had no idea how he managed to contain the urge to break her nose, but whatever it was, it was a success. The Goddess of Love eyed at Pit and Magnus, who were still chatting. "You know, I think you should walk up to them, discreetly, and listen to what they're saying. You could be interested."

"Why'd I do that?"

The Goddess shrugged and ran her fingers through a strand of her curly blond hair. "It's just a suggestion."

Dark Pit gritted his teeth, just about to snap at her, but suppressed his anger in order to follow her advice. He had nothing to lose, either way. Listening to those two having the time of their lives would wreck his heart, but at this point, he didn't care for it any longer. After all, he had always known that Pit would never be in his arms; first he thought that Palutena would have him, but it seemed like this human, Magnus, had even greater chances with him. Dark Pit's eyes filled with tears and one unfortunately managed to slip out of them. He could hear Pit's voice when he told him, in those dreams that he had, that he loved him. He could hear him call him 'my Pittoo'.

Watching the two being so close made Dark Pit eat his heart out. Ignoring the pain in his chest, Dark Pit stood up and slowly walked behind the pair, who were now laughing while Pit was explaining something. He always livened up his speech with wide hand gestures, and his glistening blue eyes were so vibrant, since he was passionate about whatever he talked about. Dark Pit remained hidden in the shadows, listening to the conversation and picking up a few words. Annoyed since he couldn't make any sense of them, he stepped even closer, watching the two friends to see if they had noticed, and sat down a few meters away from them.

Pit raised his head towards Magnus, still fidgeting with a rock that he held between his fingers. He was cross-legged, his eyes focusing on the stone in his hands, and spoke with such enthusiasm that it lifted Dark Pit's spirits immediately. "He always beats me, can you believe that? I've beaten Hades, Medusa, Pandora, Thanatos—many people! And yet, every single time we spar, he destroys me literally."

Magnus nodded and crossed his arms. "Well, maybe you have a thing or two to learn from him," he said, laughing with his angelic friend. Pit furrowed his brows, not so convinced, and that only made them laugh more. Then the human noticed movement behind him, a smile spreading on his lips. He took care not to mention it to Pit, nor to turn around in order not to scare off Dark Pit, and decided to come back on a subject that, he thought, would shed a light on the way the light angel felt. He raised an eyebrow when Pit looked right into his eyes, and asked aloud, thus ensuring that the dark, sneaky angel would hear him: "So, what about what we've talked about before you left? I understood that you didn't tell your twin."

Pit's cheeks flushed red, since he remembered exactly what this was all about, and nodded nervously. "Yeah, he… wasn't exactly in the mood for that."

"How about telling him now?" Magnus suggested, and he noticed that Pit's face had turned significantly redder. He chuckled at the sight and put his hands on the angel's shoulders, trying to motivate him. "Come on angel, don't be shy. You know you want to tell him."

"I don't… really know, maybe it's a bit early—"

"No no, none of that!" Magnus countered, putting his hand over Pit's mouth, then he let go and stared right into his big, hesitant sapphire eyes. He seemed so overwhelmed, as though he feared losing everything he had. It really couldn't be that bad, could it? Quite the opposite, it would help them move forward and look into the future together, while being perfectly honest with themselves. What did they have to lose? Magnus ruffled through Pit's hair, causing him to giggle, and smiled a little wider than before. "Now, say it."

Pit blinked, confused, and bit his lower lip. "Right now, Magnus?" That was when he noticed the figure standing next to him; he had his hands on his hips and leaned forward, looking at Pit curiously. The light gleam of his red eyes caught the light angel off-guard, and frankly he was about to jump on his feet and run off. He couldn't say it… He felt those feelings, they were growing stronger with each passing day, but… expressing them right to Dark Pit's face? He was so… breathtaking, he couldn't find his words whenever he looked at him in the eyes. He, who was a strong fighter, he who had defeated several Gods almost singlehandedly, couldn't handle the sight of his darker twin. But Magnus was with him, and squeezed his hand tightly to reassure him.

Pit took a deep breath, trying to calm down since he was suddenly panting. His vision briefly shifted to black because of how stressed out he was, but eventually he stood up and faced Dark Pit. "Pittoo, I didn't… know you were listening."

"Don't stall, Pit."

"M-Magnus!" the light angel cried out, panic-stricken, but he shut his eyes and jumped at his twin's neck, hugging him close. Dark Pit blinked, confused, and hesitated to hug him back; in the end, he didn't, he pushed Pit away from him and forced him to look into his ruby eyes. Pit turned to Magnus, trembling from head to toe, but he knew he couldn't get away with it this time. He had to own up to the way he felt, he couldn't keep on running away from it. Thus determined, the angel of light fluttered his wings and spun around to plunge into Dark Pit's bored eyes. He clenched his left fist and brought it against his chest, feeling his heart nearly jumping out of his ribcage with how fast it was beating. "Okay, okay. Pittoo, there's something I need to say."

"Uh, yeah, I knew that. I spied on your conversation."

"Heh, yeah, I noticed… It's something that I've been avoiding for ages, but it can't be avoided anymore—I won't let it. This time, it's time I be true with you, just like you are true with me."

Dark Pit frowned but listened, getting pissed off since he had to wait so long. What was wrong with that angel? Couldn't he be more precise? Was he also fond of riddles, like his human friend? That wouldn't surprise him, since Pit had always sucked with words. He was way better at showing things; waiting for clear, straight-forward explanations from him was absolutely foolish. He tapped his foot on the ground and folded his arms, raising an eyebrow. His red eyes examined Pit's expression, almost completely blank of any feeling. "So, how long am I supposed to wait? You see, it sounded absolutely delightful the way you started, but then you went back to your usual thing: standing there without talking."

"Yeah. Yeah, I-I know."

"Then?"

Pit braced himself and trailed up his right hand to Dark Pit's, once again entwining their fingers. Although Dark Pit had attempted to recoil at their contact, Pit held on tightly and let a small smile spread on his lips. His eyes started sweating with tears, but he did not care for them; he was way too focused on his darker version's ruby orbs. "You know, when I left my prison in Skyworld to save you, it wasn't for no reason. It took me time to realize it, trust me, but… I don't ever want your fingers to slip away from mine. I don't ever want your eyes to look away from mine. I don't… I don't ever want you to walk away from me. I was ready to go against Lady Palutena to help you, to protect you. At first I felt awful about it, but I'd do it again if I had to, with no hesitation. Pittoo—"

"Aaaaand you ruined it, _again_!" Dark Pit snapped at Pit, rolling his eyes. Salty, watery streaks were flowing down his cheeks, but he paid no attention to them. He gulped down the fear that had stacked in his throat, diving right into Pit's glistening oceans. "You keep on fucking up my name with that stupid nickname you've made up."

"What's wrong with 'Pittoo'?"

"I hate it."

"Do you like 'Ptooey' better? It's a hundred times better. Right? Riiiiight~?"

"NO!"

"Well then. Get used to hearing 'Pittoo', because I'm keeping it," Pit replied, smiling proudly when he saw Dark Pit mumbling something which sounded like: 'Fuck off!'. However, he reminded himself that he shouldn't lose focus, for he had important things to reveal. "Anyways, what I meant to say was that—"

"You love me, I got it."

The light angel's face flushed when Dark Pit said these words, but somehow he was disappointed; Dark Pit didn't say anything special about it. It was such a big revelation, that changed everything in Pit's eyes, and he didn't care more than that? The dark angel observed Pit for a moment, keeping his mouth shut, and Pit felt tears in his eyes. The silence between them was killing him. Why wasn't he saying anything? Even if it was to be a 'No, thank you kindly', he'd take it! He was so frustrated. Pit looked away, shaking his head, and slid his hand out of Dark Pit's. He headed out of the cave, despite Magnus calling him out and asking him to wait.

Dark Pit just stared at him with his arms folded. His eyes were empty of any emotion, and he had a rather… blank, passive expression plastered on his face. Although he had never been the most expressive angel in existence, it was still a little surprising.

Magnus stood on his feet, looking at Dark Pit and hesitating to snap his fingers in front of his face to wake him up. Instead, he decided to give him some space, so that he could think. He went after Pit, who had been cornered by Monoeyes but had dealt with them on his own, despite his lack of weapon. The human cleared his throat, announcing his arrival, and the light angel looked up. He had been staring into the horizon, his blue eyes lost in the red sky above their heads. Magnus walked up to him and rubbed his back to warm him up. "Are you alright, angel?"

"I don't know what I expected," Pit answered, before he shrugged one shoulder and gazed at the empty sky. He didn't seem particularly heartbroken, only heavily disconcerted. "Pittoo always acts this way when he's disturbed: he doesn't say a word and… stares."

Magnus rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, though I don't think he's negatively disturbed, if that makes any sense. He just wasn't expecting to hear those words, I suppose."

"You think it was too elaborate?"

"Well, it… is true that you could've been simpler," the human admitted, still uncomfortable, but he eventually soothed down. "What you said was very, very romantic, and we both know that he's not into that stuff…"

Pit spun around to look at him. He looked very serious, which Magnus didn't really like, with his brows furrowed. He curled his lip, thinking about what he could've said, how he could've put his feelings out in the open. He had wanted to express what he truly felt within, that was why he had been so 'romantic', as Magnus called it. He had wanted to be himself, to… say things the way he would usually say them. Now of course, it seemed to have been a mistake. Since Dark Pit wasn't coming out of the cave to check on him and talk to him, he assumed that he was still shaken. Perhaps it had been a bad idea to tell him about his feelings, maybe it wasn't meant to be.

The light angel sighed, puzzled, and decided to walk back in the cave. Magnus followed him, not willing to be left on his own to deal with Underworld enemies, and also wanting to make sure that nothing bad happened when they walked back in. Aphrodite looked up at them, smiling a little, almost in a sorry way, whereas Dark Pit stood in a corner of the cave, on his own, fidgeting with his staff. Pit eyed at him, stepped up to him, only to be threatened with the weapon on his temple. The dark angel glowered at him, tears running along his cheeks, and Pit raised his hands in the air. "I'm not here to hurt you."

"What you've said hurt enough."

"Is this about the 'Pittoo' thing? I was joking, I didn't mean to hurt your fee—"

"It has _nothing_ to do with that!" Dark Pit snarled, tightening his grip on his staff. "I don't want to talk about it. Scram."

The light angel folded his arms and stood right where he was, not minding the nose of the weapon still pressed against his head. He stared right into Dark Pit's red eyes, and found absolutely no rage in them; it was all a mask to hide his true feelings. It appeared that he was… scared. But scared of what? Scared of what Pit had told him and what it meant, or scared of his own feelings towards it? Pit had no way to tell if his darker version refused to talk things out, but that didn't mean he was about to give up. He'd die trying, if it came to it. "You know I'm not moving, and you know I'm not scared of you. So tell me what's wrong, and maybe I'll go sooner if you do."

Dark Pit growled, like a hunted animal. "Everything is wrong! The way you feel about me, it's… disgusting."

"Is it?"

The dark angel's eyes filled with more tears, and he gulped loudly. He looked off, frightened by the look in his lighter half's eyes; he was so determined, so certain, so convinced… when he himself was torn apart. Those words, that he never thought he'd ever hear, had been said, and he couldn't believe his ears. His heart had been exploding in his chest since he had heard his revelation—he truly hated him for making him feel so weak. Thus, he started to charge his staff, threatening to kill Pit if he didn't leave him alone. "It is. Now scram, I said."

"You're not thinking a word you're saying."

"How would you know that?!" Dark Pit snapped at him, gritting his teeth. "I can't believe you'd look at me like that. I thought we were _brothers_."

"Yet you've longed to hear those words, haven't you?"

"SHUT UP! STEP BACK!"

Pit looked at him, unimpressed, and lost his patience. He grabbed the weapon, easily snatching it from his twin's trembling hands, and threw it on the ground, pissed off. He had had enough. "I'm staying right here. Why do you lie to yourself? What's in it for you?"

"I'm not—" Dark Pit started, until he saw _it_ and his voice died in his throat. There it was, the fiery passion that Dark Pit had seen in his eyes before, when he left Skyworld; it was back, and it paralyzed him. So much confidence, so much strength was contained in those usually soft, gentle blue orbs. Dark Pit took a step back, his wings brushing against the rocky wall behind him, and lowered his head. He was supposed to be the fearless, dominant angel, but he was absolutely helpless when Pit acted this way. The light angel kicked Dark Pit's staff away, not caring where it had slid, and focused his glistening eyes on his darker version. With a soft smile, he lifted his face, a finger under his chin, so that he could look at him in the eyes. Dark Pit gulped; there they were, the butterflies, followed by the strong urge to kiss those lips away. He didn't want to succumb to his desires… Every person that he had ever loved ended up hurt, he didn't want Pit hurt. He slapped his lighter half's hand off of his chin. "What is it that you don't understand in 'scram'?" he growled.

The light angel only smiled at that. "Apparently, I don't want to."

Dark Pit blinked, surprised by the answer, and soon couldn't resist his urges any longer. The only way to refrain them would be through a bloodbath. "Then you fucking asked for it, this will end in a fight."

Pit shook his head and tried to scoop his darker twin close to him, but the dark angel pushed him off and attacked him straight on with his staff. The light angel jumped out of range, to make sure that he wouldn't be wounded, and used his Viridi Palm for defensive measures. He refused to answer to his darker version's lust for violence, and instead tried to make his way up to him to seal their lips in a kiss. He knew that Dark Pit desired him just as much as he craved for him.

Pit narrowly evaded a precise shot from Dark Pit's staff and jumped forward while the other was recharging his weapon. He managed to get close to the dark angel, who immediately slammed his staff to the side of his face. Pit lost his balance and fell on the cold ground, his eyes filling with heavy tears. His temple was pulsating, though it probably wasn't cut, and he panted to try and suppress the sore feeling in his entire body. His vision became blurry, and all he could see was Dark Pit kneeling down in front of him. He briefly felt fingers brushing against his left cheek before they drew back, and he could depict an additional tinge of red. Pit moaned in pain and squeezed his eyes closed, slowly overcoming the sensation.

Dark Pit sniffed and looked at his hand, which was covered in blood, regretting his actions. He had been so… surprised that he had turned it into anger—even though he had been craving to hear those words for months on end. His stomach heaving because of the open wound on Pit's face, the dark angel teared up and looked askance. He offered a hand to his twin after he had set his staff on the ground. "Here, let me help you up."

"I'm good, I—"

"Don't insist," Dark Pit growled. He forcefully tugged Pit's hand and pulled him to his feet. The dark angel quickly made sure that his lighter half wasn't wounded anywhere else, and sighed in relief when he realized that little harm had been done during his outburst of rage. After he was done checking, Dark Pit dived right into Pit's gleaming sapphire eyes and leaned in abruptly, kissing him with passion. Pit gasped in the kiss, at a loss for words, and didn't even manage to push him off. He wanted that kiss, he had to be honest with himself. Even though they had been fighting just then, Pit would've given anything to get such a sweet attention from Dark Pit. The dark angel pulled Pit closer by grasping his white scarf, and slammed him against the wall. His twin was panting from their battle but still answered eagerly to their kiss, granting him access to his mouth by parting his lips.

When she caught a sight of them, since she had been talking with Magnus and focusing her attention on him, Aphrodite smiled. Destiny didn't have it any other way: they had been made, crafted for one another before the beginning of Time. Chronos and Chaos had been working hand and hand in order to make the perfect angels, the ideal alliance to erase the upcoming rise of Darkness. As she always said, Love is stronger than anything, even Evil—and she would know, since she had been one of the only Gods to resist to Medusa's powers up to this point. Aphrodite turned to Magnus again, smiling, when she realized too late what was about to happen: the staff had fully charged up, firing a deadly arrow at Magnus. "Watch out!"

The human turned around and jumped out of the way, crashing to the ground.

The two angels quickly turned to them, alarmed by the loud shot, and Pit nearly choked when he saw Magnus lying on the floor. "Magnus!" He gently pushed Dark Pit off of him and rushed to the side of his friend. Even though his vision wasn't very clear, he could still make out rather precisely where his human friend was. Once he was by his sides, he knelt down, panicked, and tried to shake him awake. "No no, please no!" Pit begged, though he noticed that there wasn't any blood on the ground, and that Magnus' chest was still moving. He frowned and turned him so that he lied on his back, reassured to see that he had not been touched by the arrow. The angel pushed Magnus' hair off of his face, still concerned, and sighed when he saw him looking back with an amused expression on his face. Was this supposed to be funny? "Are you kidding me, Magnus?"

"Hey, it's nothing, don't be like that. Though, that thing's dangerous."

"What did you expect?" Dark Pit's voice arose. The dark angel was leaning against the wall, smirking, his hands on his hips. Pit was delighted to see that he was back to his attitude, despite all the changes that had taken place in so little time and their recent battle for dominance. Dark Pit pushed himself off of the wall and walked up to them, standing right next to Magnus. "All of my weapons are dangerous—just like the angel who uses them."

The human rolled eyes and sat up. "Silly me, I forgot that it belonged to Mr. Badass over there."

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 _To be continued…_

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 **Updated: 02/11/2019**


	19. Chapter 18: Split

_**Hello everyone! I was almost running late, kind of forgot that we were the 5th... Forgive me :) I'll let you dive right into it!**_

 _ **Yours truly, Circle of J.**_

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 **/!\ Warning: Cuteness ahead!** (for once it's a nice warning… hm, am I having a change of heart?) **/!\**

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 **Disclaimer: ****I do not own the characters from the Kid Icarus series. The deities mentioned are taken from Greek Mythology, remastered the way I imagine them. What I own, on the other hand, is the plot.**

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 **Kid Icarus: Heirs of the Light**

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 _Chapter 18: Split_

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Dark Pit sighed, relieved: they made it. They were all perfectly well and out of the Underworld, after two days of intense walking and hiding from monsters. The warm rays of the sun glowing through the waterfall eased his mind as soon as he saw them. The beautiful, calming song of the water flowing down to the spring below, the chirping of the birds, the whistling of the trees all around them… He had never felt so relaxed in his entire life before. The dark angel stretched his wings, which had started to hurt ever since the Power of Flight had worn off, and inhaled the fresh air of the Overworld. It filled him with satisfaction, since it wasn't overflown with the scent of burning flesh and, well, death in general.

Dark Pit eyed at his three partners, who were waiting for the Lightning Chariot, and thought about what to do next: they had several options. Their main goal was to protect Palutena from the upcoming darkness at any cost, so that she didn't die, because that would allow the Days of Darkness to begin in this dimension as well. From experience, he knew that it would shift and corrupt the entire world and its inhabitants… He himself had been a victim of it, but he'd never admit it, even with a gun to his head.

Anyways, since the Goddess of Light was still under a coat of stone, it would be wise to head right to his dimension and ask for Hermes to save her, which he would surely be able to do in no time and, thus would save them precious time. But on the other hand, they could also take another route and focus on fighting Medusa, which seemed a lot easier to do considering that Pit had done it on his own twice already. What bothered Dark Pit with that idea was that, no matter how many times she had been defeated, she had always been back, with ever-growing powers. At first he had blamed Hades for her resurrections, but since Pit had killed Hades, it couldn't be.

Aside from those options, they also needed to go to Mount Olympus as soon as possible, before Dark Pit fully transformed into a statue. His cheek was already gray and solid, so was his right leg. His fingers started to feel a little stiffer than they should and his left eye was twitching… He didn't want to risk anything; he had already done the impossible by surviving so long with that curse running in his veins. The sooner they saw Zeus, the sooner they could focus on their main objective and save Pit's dimension, since it was the big thing that they apparently ought to accomplish together. That being said, together meant: just the two of them. So perhaps, the first step would be to drop Magnus back to his hometown, to keep him at bay from danger. Pit and Dark Pit could then settle down in Viridi's former Sanctum to figure out a plan, since it was deserted. At least, they could have a safe haven to stay at in times where things would get really, really rough.

Decided, Dark Pit looked up at Pit, who was helping Magnus to board the Lightning Chariot. "Pit, you think we could talk real quick?"

The light angel's wings fluttered when he heard his name, and he quickly spun around once he had secured Magnus. His blue eyes reflected the light of the sun, and Dark Pit felt his heart skip a beat at that sight; such beauty, he was lucky that he loved him back. Pit walked up to his dark twin and entwined their fingers, knowing that he wouldn't recoil. To be fair, he nearly had, since his body still wasn't quite into touches, but he had managed to suppress it; after all, the contact was delicious, Pit's skin felt so soft and perfect. "What's up, Pittoo?"

Dark Pit blinked, shaking himself out of his trance, and cleared his throat. "It's about what to do next, what do you say?"

"Oh, well…" was all that Pit said at first, before he briefly looked over his shoulder. He smiled when Magnus asked him if everything was alright, then faced his twin again. He seemed a little more worried than he'd been before, which caught Dark Pit's curiosity. "I was thinking that we should bring Magnus back to the Overworld before we do anything else. We never know, it could be dangerous, and I don't want him involved in the… horrors coming our way."

Dark Pit nodded lightly and looked back towards Magnus. "Right, good, because I was thinking the same thing."

"Really? That's so cool! Viridi would've blamed our 'super-secret twin connection'."

"Though, I blame common sense on that one," Dark Pit laughed along with Pit at the memory of the little Goddess of Nature. They missed her, wished that she could've stayed alive longer… Dark Pit owed her everything: she had granted him with protection at a time where he craved for it. He had never thanked her for everything she had done for him, he had taken everything as though it was his due. He only realized his mistake when he fell in that lake, because then he had understood that she was gone and that he would never see her again.

Pit stared into his eyes and called his name for the fourth time in a row, before Dark Pit came back to reality. He slightly pushed Pit out of his way but was quickly grabbed from behind and spun around. Pit's lips crashed against his own, and Dark Pit widened his eyes in disbelief. He had no idea if he had liked that, to be true: he was supposed to be the dominant one in their relationship! Though, Pit was charming and incredibly sexy when he took matters in his own hands. The dark angel couldn't deny that it made him all the more excited to have a 'rival', even within their newly established romantic relationship; that only made things spicier. Pit pushed him off, licking his lips, and a huge grin spread on them after that.

Dark Pit blinked, slightly disappointed that the kiss had ended so soon, and stood there while the light angel was off jumping in the Lightning Chariot. The little sunshine that he was hopped in, beaming like his usual self and speaking loudly to his unicorns. The darker version, still at the same spot, shook his head, amused, and wiped his lips. The lingering taste of Pit's mouth on his' wasn't so terrible, but staying hidden from view also helped him hide his flushed cheeks from Magnus and Aphrodite. Once the burning sensation on his cheeks had dissipated, he turned towards the Lightning Chariot, only to realize that he wouldn't fit aboard with Magnus and Pit already inside. He clicked his tongue, then an idea occurred to him.

Dark Pit jumped over Magnus and sat down on Pit's lap. Although the contact frightened him, since it reminded him of his past, he admitted to enjoying the flash of red on Pit's cheeks. That alone pushed him to stay, even if his body wanted to get away more than anything. _Sweet_ _revenge…_

Aphrodite looked at them and told Dark Pit that she would be waiting for them at Viridi's Sanctum, before she disappeared in a halo of pink light. The light angel sitting underneath Dark Pit grabbed the halter of Phos and Lux and gently whipped them, telling them to head for Magnus' city. That didn't seem to surprise the human, so the dark version of Pit assumed that Pit had told him where they were going beforehand.

The Lightning Chariot sped, probably at full speed, towards the forest where Pit and Dark Pit had argued before the angel of light's departure, and Pit pulled the vehicle to a stop. Since he couldn't see what he was doing with Dark Pit's wings in the way, he nearly crashed into a tree before strongly pulling onto the halter to force the unicorns to slow down. The hooves of Phos and Lux dug into the grass to stop as fast as they could, and that ended up in an abrupt stop that sent every passenger overboard.

Pit landed face first in the grass, groaning, whereas Dark Pit had been thrown over and hung from a tree branch. Of course, a branch that wasn't strong enough to bare his weight. It broke off and the dark angel crashed to the ground. He cursed, sprung on his feet, and realized that they were rather close to the river. What a delight, maybe he'd stay there for a while.

Magnus rose to his feet as well, just next to the Lightning Chariot, and offered Pit a hand. The light angel nodded and clung to it, standing up despite his dizziness—perhaps he had a concussion with his brutal landing. The human then turned towards Dark Pit and detached the necklace from his neck, handing it to him. Dark Pit stared at it, puzzled, until he remembered what it was and took it. He wrapped it around his wrist and fastened the chain, much to Pit's confusion. "Why don't you wear it like a necklace should be worn, Pittoo?"

"Because I don't like rules, nor blinkered minds like yours."

"Hey!" Pit protested, his wings fluttering to express his slight anger. He pouted and turned his back to Dark Pit, who couldn't help but snicker at his childish behavior. Then, the light angel eyed at Magnus, who was handing him a round object with a hole in the middle of it. Pit furrowed his brows, having no idea what it was meant to be, but took it nonetheless; one does not refuse a gift. Dark Pit peeked at it and snatched it from Pit's hands, putting it in his own pocket. The light angel didn't say anything, tormented by the fact that they had to leave Magnus behind. He faced the human and hugged him tight, tears in his blue eyes when he squeezed him. "I'll miss you, Magnus. Take care of yourself, and keep protecting the humans."

Magnus chuckled at that and gave a kiss on top of his angelic friend's head. "I promise you. Now, angel, _you_ be careful. I don't want Pittoo to knock at my door to tell me that you're dead once again."

Pit nodded and stepped away from Magnus, tears streaming down his face despite the smile that was plastered on his lips. Separations were always difficult for the angel, since he loved to keep his close friends next to him. That way, he could always ensure that they would be safe. This time, he knew that… leaving Magnus behind was the best thing to do, considering the upcoming threat, but that didn't make goodbyes any less painful. Pit turned away, his heart aching, and walked towards the river behind them.

Meanwhile, Dark Pit stared at Magnus with a smirk across the lips, folding his arms. He was leaning against the tree that he fell from, looking just like his usual self: insolent and overly confident. However, the human knew better now, he had time to talk to him and reach for who he really was during their short journey together. Magnus walked up to Dark Pit and opened his arms. The dark angel's eyes glistened and he embraced the human, for he admitted that he had grown quite fond of him. He looked forward to seeing him again, if he ever did before heading back to his own dimension. They had spent amazing times together, even though their strong personalities sometimes had a brush with one another.

Nonetheless, Dark Pit would cherish the memories of their journey to the Underworld; Magnus had been there to hold out a hand when he most needed one. He'd remember him always, even when he'd be back to his old life, away from this world and its people. Dark Pit sighed and pushed off Magnus after a minute or two into their hug. "Thought you'd never let go."

"You'd wish," Magnus smirked. Dark Pit rolled eyes and folded his arms again, wearing that bored expression in his red eyes. The human put a hand on the dark angel's shoulder—which he almost slapped off of him—and spun around, facing his city. "Thank you for everything you did for me. I really enjoyed your company, even though you can be a bit… unnerving at times."

Dark Pit snorted. "Whatever."

Magnus smiled at that answer, knowing that he'd get nothing more, and walked back towards his city, leaving the two angels behind. The darker version of Pit raised an eyebrow and watched him from afar, a sincere smile creeping on his lips. He couldn't take his eyes off of that human who shared his worries for Pit, who had been by his side when he thought that everything was lost, who had given him a hand in desperate battles that he never would've won on his own. "Thank you, Magnus," he whispered, still staring at the human's figure, which was almost out of sight already with all the trees in the way. "You made me realize that, in the end, I have many, many things to lose."

With that said, Dark Pit turned around and his ruby orbs met Pit's silhouette, leaning above the water of the river. He walked up to him, observing him without moving too close; he still feared to touch him, even though he longed to be sitting by his side. Pit was running his fingers in the cold water, laughing to himself, and looked at something that was making its way to the shore. Dark Pit stepped closer, curious, and saw that it was a fish swimming towards Pit's hand. The light angel's wings fluttered when the fish touched his hand, excited, and his darker twin could see his shining eyes from his position, next to the tree that he'd fallen from. He used it for support and rested his shoulder against it, crossing his legs.

Dark Pit narrowed his red eyes when he saw Pit looking over to his side and felt his own cheeks turn red. He decided to fight his fear of contact and sit next to Pit, however he couldn't resolve to being very close to him. So he still made sure there was a 'safe distance' between both of them, much to Pit's bewilderment. Though, he said nothing about it, slightly smiling because his twin had tried to move closer. He knew how much he was scared of making a move towards people, so it still warmed his heart that he would try to fight it for him.

Pit caressed the fish's head before it swam off, following the stream of water. The angel chuckled and watched it swim away with wide, amazed blue eyes. Dark Pit couldn't hold back a smile at the sight, and eventually spoke up: "That fishy seemed to like you. He's really the only one to."

"Oh, he is?" the angel of light retorted, eyeing at his twin.

Pit crawled closer to Dark Pit, who didn't dare to move away, although he had really wanted to. He made eye contact with the darker angel, distracting him with his gorgeous, gleaming ocean orbs, and reached out for his hand. When his fingers brushed against the delicate skin of Dark Pit's hand, he nearly jerked back but shut his eyes to mask his uneasiness. Pit trailed his fingers along his hand, whispering in his ear that he had no reason to be concerned, and Dark Pit opened his eyes to look at him. The dark angel slightly moved his hand to part his fingers, so that Pit's own could fill in the gaps between them. They both sat there, on the shore, their feet in the cold water, under the warm glow of the sun. The silence surrounding them made it all better, since Dark Pit was already overwhelmed by the touch of Pit's hand.

The light angel looked at the river, his gaze following its current, and he shut his eyes to take in the sweet scent of the trees. Dark Pit admired him, mesmerized by his beauty, and lost track of all his thoughts. The only thing he could think about was this angel, whom belonged to him fully, whom he would never forget, even when he'd be back in his dimension. He was saddened at the perspective of returning to his home world: he would hate to be away from the one he considered to be the love of his life. But he knew that he had to; his dimension also participated in balancing the universe. He couldn't be gone from his world, it wasn't an option. Maybe for a short amount of time, like the Gods had wanted, but no more than that. Once his mission would be accomplished, he would have to leave, whether he liked it that way or not.

Dark Pit looked off, admiring the scenery around him despite those crippling thoughts. The forest around him helped him move on from those, since he desperately needed to. The high trees, the vivid shades of those orange, yellow and red leaves, the music of the water going down the valley… All of this was enough to fill him with true, sincere bliss. Dark Pit eyed at Pit, who still had his eyes closed and inhaled the fresh air brushing through his hazel bangs. He gazed at him once again, falling in a weird adoration, and eventually gasped. "There's something I forgot to show you. I found what you call a 'nice story' to read. Trust me, it took me time to find one…"

This caught the attention of Pit, who looked at him with a raised eyebrow. The dark angel rummaged through his pocket and took out a pocket-sized book. Pit's wings fluttered when his eyes fell on it, excited. "Oh! I can't believe you remembered about it!"

"Of course I did, Pit-stain, _my_ brain is functional."

"That's mean!"

"But true," Dark Pit chuckled, then he opened the book at the first page. Pit moved closer to his twin, resting his head on his shoulder, and the dark angel ran his eyes along the lines, reading them out loud. He had been looking everywhere until he had found one: a happy story with a good ending, like Pit had always wanted him to read. Strangely enough, he had found it in the Underworld's library, which he thought was ironic. Maybe Hades liked stories with heroes that saved princesses from evil? That'd be hilarious.

Pit leaned all against Dark Pit, listening to his every word and smiling to himself, his cheeks completely red. It had been such a long time since they had read a story together, he felt as though he was in the Heavens. He couldn't believe that it was happening; he had dreamt of it so many times… Hearing Dark Pit's voice in midst of the song of Nature was… truly breathtaking, and the word wasn't strong enough to fully grasp it. The angel looked at the pages, taken by its story, and felt so light himself: as if he was on a cloud.

Dark Pit briefly eyed at him before pursuing his reading. He had a small smile on the lips, which revealed just how much he was appreciating the moment with Pit. " _The prince launched towards the dragon, screamed to the Heavens: 'The light of my holy sword will pierce through the heart made of darkness of the Queen!', then his magical sword started glowing brighter than the sun. The prince grasped its hilt and threw the sword towards the dragon, thus piercing its heart and killing it instantly. With the power of his love and his courage, he had taken down the biggest threat of the Kingdom. The fairies flew towards him, praising him for his brave actions, and led him towards the castle where the princess was sound asleep._ "

Dark Pit paused, looking at Pit, who smiled at him widely. The dark angel nodded, since he wanted to make sure that his other half wasn't sleeping himself, and went back to his reading: " _He noticed that the entire city was asleep as well, even the guards who were supposed to protect the castle! That made things easier for him though, since he didn't have to explain why he was there. The prince followed the fairies up the stairs until he reached the top of the highest tower of the castle. There, he found the princess laying in her bed, a rose in her hands, and approached her slowly. He gazed at her beauty with gleaming eyes, instantly appealed,_ blah blah blah, and he raped her. The end."

"What?!" Pit exclaimed, shocked, and he noticed Dark Pit's mischievous smirk. He pouted and folded his arms. "That's not how it really ends!"

Dark Pit snickered and closed the book. "If I say so? I'm the one who can read, am I not?" Pit looked at him and wanted to answer, however he knew that it was true: he himself couldn't read, so how could he know the real ending? But he knew that Dark Pit was deceiving him; it couldn't be the true ending, because he said it was a nice story. Princesses didn't get raped in good stories… The light angel shook his head and sighed, trying to look pissed off, but that only made his darker twin laugh. Dark Pit put his hands on his hips and looked at Pit with an amused expression in his beautiful red eyes. "What's that, Pit-stain? You're pouting?"

"No!" Pit countered, then he shut his eyes and turned away from Dark Pit. "I want you to tell me the real ending!"

"But that was the true ending!"

"No, it wasn't and I know it, Pittoo!"

Dark Pit rolled eyes and handed the book to Pit. "Here, check if you don't believe me."

The light angel grabbed the book and opened it at the last page, but of course he had no idea what it all said. Dark Pit burst in laughter at the sight of him, his arms pressed against his stomach since it started to ache. Pit frowned at him and groaned, upset, before he set the book in the grass next to him. "I can't read it!"

"That's my point!" Dark Pit laughed at him, then he took a deep breath and picked up the book, in order to put it back in his pocket. He felt something brush against his fingers and furrowed his brows, suddenly more serious; he didn't recall having anything else in this pocket. He had made sure to put the stabilizer in its own dedicated pocket, so what could it be? Puzzled, he grabbed the roundish shape that was there and took it out, only to realize that it was Pit's missing medallion. He nodded when he saw it, and Pit raised his head, his eyes landing on his pin. He immediately sprung to his feet, happy that Dark Pit had found and retrieved it, and tried to snatch it from his hand. Dark Pit growled and pushed him off of him. "Hey! Don't touch that!"

Pit clenched his fists and attempted to take it again, only to be pushed one more time. "But that's mine!"

"No, it's mine now, since I found it!"

The light angel glared at him. He stepped up to Dark Pit and tried to grab his precious medallion, but his twin wouldn't let him take it back. Pit eventually stopped trying, after being pushed to the ground three times in a row, and pouted. His eyes filled with tears, since Dark Pit had stolen his most precious gift from his Goddess Palutena. He refused to look at his darker version when he called him out two times, then felt something hit him in the back of the head: it was heavy and round. Pit hissed at the pain and rubbed the spot where it had hit him, before turning around. He was about to yell at Dark Pit for being a douche when he noticed the purple medallion amongst the grass behind him.

Pit frowned, confused, and eyed at Dark Pit, who had put on his red medallion instead of his usual purple one. He glanced at the light angel and his cheeks turned red when he said: "Since you won't stop bothering me, I thought we could switch… I really want your medallion, and… when I think about it, you'd look good with mine on."

The angel of light blinked, surprised, but grasped the purple medallion and tied it to his scarf and chiton, in order to keep them in place. Suddenly, with a pin on his shoulder, he felt complete. It was different from his normal medallion, but to be fair, he loved it even more. It belonged to Dark Pit, so, how could he not love it? That way, he would always keep him close to his heart; he'd always be leaning over his shoulder, no matter what would happen in the future. As long as he kept his new jewel on him, at all times, then Dark Pit would never fade from his memory. Pit noticed movement next to him and raised his head towards Dark Pit, who had walked towards the Lightning Chariot. Understanding the message, the light angel got on his feet, bouncing up and down a little to motivate himself, and hopped in the vehicle next to his darker version. Dark Pit barely looked at him, his eyes focused on the halter he held in his hands, and he whipped Phos and Lux. "To Viridi's Sanctum!"

To Pit's surprise, they followed his request. Even though he shouldn't be that astonished, he still admitted that he didn't think they would obey him, now that their true master was back. The two unicorns zoomed across the skies, heading right for Viridi's decrepit Sanctum, while Pit couldn't tear his eyes away from his twin. With the halter and his ruby orbs concentrated on their path, he seemed so serious and collected. The lighter version found it rather adorable, although it wasn't such an extraordinary sight. Dark Pit had always been the most solemn of them both, probably because of his life experiences.

Pit would gladly ask about them, to know more about the angel that he loved, but he knew that the memories would be painful for Dark Pit. He had mentioned that his dimension had already fallen in what he called the 'Days of Darkness', so the angel of light assumed that his twin must have seen… truly horrible things. Perhaps he had even been a part of beatings, perhaps he had almost been assassinated hundreds of times! No, asking Dark Pit to tell him about his dimension was a terrible idea.

Dark Pit soon pulled onto the halter, forcing the Lightning Chariot to a stop. They had reached Viridi's old Sanctum, and Aphrodite was there, standing next to them with her hands in her back. The dark angel briefly patted the two unicorns leading the Chariot once he had jumped out of it, but winced at the increasing pain in his wings. Those too were getting stiff. They couldn't afford to waste any more time, they had to head to Mount Olympus.

Pit pulled himself out of the Lightning Chariot, feeding Phos and Lux and talking to them in his own corner, whereas Aphrodite and Dark Pit walked towards the Goddess of Nature's former office. Aphrodite had made the place her very own: she had found the room to add two beds without having to move anything, and had also brought an armchair in the corner of the room, next to the door. She had replaced Viridi's old tree lamp with another one, which was pink with a heart-shaped lightbulb in it.

The Goddess of Love told him that they would stay in this room, the three of them, until they could make it back to Palutena's palace safely—in other words, until they managed to find another body for Hades' soul. Dark Pit looked around the room and sat in the armchair, although he knew that she had put it there for her own use. Aphrodite rolled eyes and sat on the edge of her bed, which was the smallest one of the two, considering that Pit and his darker twin would have to share their own. Dark Pit gulped at the idea, hating it already, but didn't mention it. Instead, he wore his typical bored look in his eyes when looking at the Goddess of Love. He tried to extend his right leg, only to yelp at the pain that it triggered. Maybe he shouldn't have tried.

"We have to seek Father's help," Aphrodite said when she noticed his pained expression. "Your body cannot resist any longer."

"Yeah, you're telling me," Dark Pit sighed, moaning in agony when he tried to lift his leg with his hands. It was just impossible to touch it, even a swift brush on its skin would cause him to cry. He sniffed, a silent tear running down his cheek, and looked off towards the door; it had just opened on Pit. "Maybe going now would be wise."

"Going where? To Mount Olympus?" Pit asked, his eyes glued to his darker version's crippled leg.

Aphrodite nodded and eyed at the light angel. "Yes, but you need to stay here, to make sure that the Lightning Chariot will be safe in our absence."

"Or we could borrow it to fly up to Zeus' mountain," Dark Pit growled, before he looked at his leg in desperation. "That'd be easier with this. I'm not sure I can support the additional weight with my wings."

The Goddess of Love observed the dark angel with concern, and eventually turned to face Pit. Her pink, glowing eyes plunged right into his sapphires, which unsettled him a little since he was always embarrassed. She chuckled and stood on her feet, walking towards Dark Pit who couldn't pull himself up despite his best efforts to. "We should go right now. Will you be alright on your own, Pit?"

Pit seemed to be worried at the perspective of letting his darker half leave without him, but agreed that it was better if he stayed in the Sanctum. He knew that he could count on Aphrodite, since the Goddess of Love had helped the dark angel out of the Underworld and back to them. Thus, he nodded and went to sit on the bed he'd share with Dark Pit, joining his hands and resting them on his thighs. Aphrodite reassured him by saying that they wouldn't be long, and asked him to be very careful, for Medusa would probably be looking for their location. He promised that he would do everything to protect the Sanctum, which appeared to satisfy her. The Goddess of Love offered a hand to Dark Pit and he leaned on her shoulder, while they cautiously walked down the stairs leading to the Lightning Chariot. She lifted the dark angel enough so that he could sit in the vehicle, and hopped in next to him. Pit eyed at them from the office, standing at the door, and told them to be careful on the way.

Aphrodite smiled at him, told him not to worry, and soon after that they were gone at the speed of light.

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 _To be continued…_

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 **Updated: 02/11/2019**


	20. Chapter 19: Unexpected medicine

_**Hello my good readers! How are you doing? I know, I know, I am late. I was so worn out yesterday that I went to bed directly… I apologize for the delay. Without further ado, I'll let you dive into it! No needs for warnings this time around, if I can actually remember the content of this chapter x)**_

 _ **Yours truly, Circle of J.**_

* * *

 **Disclaimer: ****I do not own the characters from the Kid Icarus series. The deities mentioned are taken from Greek Mythology, remastered the way I imagine them. What I own, on the other hand, is the plot.**

* * *

 **Kid Icarus: Heirs of the Light**

* * *

 _Chapter 19: Unexpected medicine_

* * *

Pit split his bow in two blades and slashed them at the face of his enemies, growing more and more desperate. They were way too numerous, he had no way of beating them. He had had the bad luck to close his eyes, since his latest journey in the Underworld had made him pretty tired… When he had woken up, the Sanctum was flooded with Reapers. Of course, Dark Pit and Aphrodite weren't back yet, so he had to deal with dozens of them on his own. Needless to say, he was in a terrible mood.

The angel of light quickly brought his blades together and shot a fully charged arrow at the Reaper rushing in his direction, but he growled in frustration when he saw the little to no damage it did. He quickly avoided a bite attack, sneaking behind the Reaper's back, and used his swords to slice its head off of its body. The Reaper screeched, thus alerting the others, who turned simultaneously and headed right for Pit. The angel jumped back, quick enough to evade a vicious attack, and stabbed the Reaper who had assaulted him. The creature shrieked and its big yellow eyes dived right into those blue of its opponent. It tried another bite, nearly munching on the angel's arm but he was too agile.

Pit dashed to the side, though he was dragged backwards by a Reaper who had caught his scarf. He wiggled around to break free, his scarf sliding off of his neck, and spun around to stab the Reaper in the chest. All of its comrades turned to them and launched themselves towards the angel. Pit grasped the hilt of his two blades and immediately brought them together to spin his bow and generate a shield. The Reapers cried out at the bright light that emanated from the blades. Pit took advantage of their dizziness to steer his luminous shield towards the enemies, disintegrating them upon touch. The troop of enemies retreated, only for more of them to appear, seeking Pit's blood. The light angel groaned, holding his weapon tight, and swung it at the faces of his adversaries. He was so swift in his movements that the Reapers had trouble catching up with his speed. In the blink of an eye, the entire army of Reapers had been decimated.

Pit breathed in heavily, panting, and let go of his bow. The weapon fell to the ground, startling him when it clanged against the wood, and the angel of light stretched his wings. Nothing made him more aggro than having to fight early in the morning; he really missed Palutena's commentary, it was what normally helped him soothe down. Without paying attention to his thoughts, his blood still pumping because of his recent battle, he leaned in and scooped up his fallen weapon. He checked the blades, to see if they had been fractured, and his eyes trailed along them with a weird admiration. Holding this bow reminded him of all the good times he had spent in Palutena's company, and brought nostalgia to his heart. He sincerely hoped that they would find a way to bring her back to her senses, and to kill Hades one more time. Though he knew that it would take time, and it hurt him to think that his Goddess was out of reach.

The angel shook himself out of his trance and glanced at the state of the main hall: it had been wrecked by the battle. Several objects had fallen to the ground, and some dead weeping willow branches had been cut by his blades in midst of the fight. In order not to worry Aphrodite and Dark Pit, he'd have to clean up the mess, and also to stitch the cuts and bite marks on his body. They were not major, for they didn't hurt at all, but still visible enough. Pit motivated himself and cleaned up the room, sorting everything that he had picked from the ground to throw them in the _right_ trashcan. There were so, so many of them… Something like twenty, if he could count them well. Viridi sure had been thorough about sorting her trash… In the memory of the little Goddess of Nature, he could at least keep things as tidy and organized as she had wanted them to be.

Soon, it was the neighing of Phos that caught his attention. Pit bit his lower lip, since he had no time to stitch up his wounds—or even to pick up his scarf, for that matter—and hid in the office. He secretly hoped that they wouldn't notice his torn scarf on the ground. The light angel lied in his bed and turned his back to the door, faking being asleep. He picked up the sound of Dark Pit's voice and his heart skipped a beat: he was okay, he had been healed, else they wouldn't be back. He nearly sprung to his feet and ran to hug him, but knew that his darker twin would be pissed beyond words if he saw his wounds. Then again, he could not hide in his bed forever… Pit jumped when the door opened on Aphrodite, and he forced his eyes shut. He grasped the blanket over him, squeezing it in his hands, and stopped breathing when he felt the Goddess of Love leaning above him. She chuckled, and he couldn't help but look up when he heard her. However, he still played it off as though he had just woken up, rubbing his eyes with his fists… Fists that were riddled with cuts.

Aphrodite gasped and sat on the edge of the bed, examining those hands with concern. "What happened to you? Why are you wounded?"

Pit sighed and hissed when her fingers trailed along his right hand, stopping on a bite mark. He didn't say anything, closed his eyes and turned his face towards the wall. He really didn't want to worry them, he felt perfectly fine. Aphrodite raised her head when she heard footsteps behind her, and smiled at Dark Pit, who had a sharp expression in his ruby eyes. He put a hand on his hip and slightly frowned when he loomed over Pit. "Are you fucking kidding me? Reapers attacked you and you're trying to keep it a secret?!" the dark angel snapped at his twin, who instantly looked up and blushed in embarrassment.

"It's nothing, really! It doesn't even hurt—Ow!" Pit yelped in pain when Dark Pit forced him to sit up, holding him by the hand. Tears flowed down his cheeks, he gritted his teeth, and his lips started trembling. The light angel glanced over to his darker version, who squinted his eyes at him. "Pittoo—"

"Shut up, you _stupid_! What in the Underworld is wrong with you, Pit-stain?!" Dark Pit snarled, forcing Pit to stand up and tugging at his hand towards the Viridi's personal infirmary. Pit tried to break free from the horrendously dolorous hold that the dark angel had on his hand, to no avail. They stormed through the corridors of the withering Sanctum, both of them nearly tripping down because of the dry branches in their way, and Dark Pit eventually forced open a door that had been locked, or so it appeared. He pushed it, slamming it against the wall, and led Pit inside what seemed to be Viridi's old private quarters. It was a huge room with lots of dead flowers all around, even hanging above the bed. The sheets were moth-eaten, with small holes everywhere on them, and the furniture itself smelled awful, like a potpourri.

Dark Pit pulled him towards another door, in the corner of the room, which led to a new room filled with more dead plants in pots. There was also a small bed in the far end of it, and that was where the dark angel wanted Pit to lay down. He didn't insist and did what he was asked to, waiting for more instructions. His injuries were throbbing, blood pouring out of them and tainting the green sheets underneath him. Dark Pit ran out of the room, surely looking for something, and soon came back with a needle and what looked like a string made of blades of grass. He sat down, refusing to look at Pit in the eyes, and leaned towards his hands. "Since you've shown yourself to be such a _strong_ little angel, no anesthetic."

"Anesthe-what?" Pit blinked, confused as to the meaning of this foreign word, and discovered it all too late: the dark angel buried the needle in his skin, piercing his flesh, and his lighter version gritted his teeth, on the brink of tears. Was Dark Pit going to stitch his wounds without putting him to sleep first? Was that what he called 'ane-something'? Pit attempted to draw back, but that only caused more pain, so he stayed still and waited patiently. That was, until Dark Pit buried the bloody needle in his skin again. "Stop! It hurts!"

"Boohoo!"

"Stop making fun of me or I will… I will… Ughhh!"

The dark angel eyed at him, unimpressed, and held his twin's hand tighter to ensure that he couldn't recoil. Pit fought back, since the pain was unbearable, but soon was immobilized when Dark Pit sat on top of him, on his stomach, restraining his movements. Although he didn't seem to be delighted by the contact and their proximity, he kept focusing on stitching up his twin's wounds. His fingers brushed against a bite mark which looked pretty deep, and Pit hissed at the sore feeling in his hand after that. He was about to yell at him, demand to be left alone, when he felt wetness on the injury. He blinked, surprise in his blue eyes, when he saw Dark Pit kissing the wound. Immediately, it seemed like the pain had been blown to smithereens. The light angel blushed wildly and buried his flushed face in the pillow under his head, much to the darker twin's amusement.

While Pit was distracted, Dark Pit applied one of Viridi's magical leaves on the open, bleeding injury. It instantly sealed it, and soon after that it vanished altogether. The light angel raised his head, astonished by the efficiency of this medicine, and eyed at Dark Pit. The dark angel had widened his eyes and murmured: "Well, that worked."

"Pittoo, we should use these more often!"

"I'd refrain from doing that," the darker angel said, before he folded his arms. "We don't know what kind of… side effects they could have. Plus, we don't have a lot of them left. They're immune to withering, but Viridi isn't there to make more of these."

Pit nodded and dived right into Dark Pit's red eyes with a strange, secret passion gleaming in his sapphire orbs. The dark angel tried not to focus on them, still stitching up the few remaining wounds on Pit's arms, though he couldn't deny that his heart was pounding. His mind started to feel rather foggy at the sight of those blue diamonds; he felt himself drowning in them, so much so that he even forgot to breathe for a moment. He coughed and shook his head, concentrating on the stitches to steer his thoughts away from the gorgeous angel, all his', who lied down under him. He could do so many things to him… But for the time being, he needed to take care of those injuries.

Dark Pit dug the needle under Pit's skin, gaining a yelp of pain from the other, and successfully stitched that one cut. He moved on to the one on Pit's shoulder bone, before he felt a hand wrapping around his wrist and preventing him from doing so. He raised an eyebrow at the light angel, whose cheeks were covered in red.

Pit pushed his hand off of him and pinched the needle from his fingers, setting it on the table beside the bed. He slightly crawled up, which caused Dark Pit to draw back, and sat up, face to face with the panicked dark angel. "Those wounds don't need your attendance, they're fine."

"Pit, let me take care of you."

"You could do that in a way that it would please both of us instead of piercing holes in my flesh," Pit said, slightly frowning since it still stung him.

Dark Pit was about to reply and, quite frankly, jump off of the bed, when he felt Pit's hands trailing along his arms. The dark angel, on edge, moved back and slapped those soft, wandering hands off of him. He sprung to his feet, his cheeks completely red, and turned his back to his lighter half. Before Pit had time to ask about what was wrong, he stormed out of the room and went to the armory. Pit blinked, disappointed, and stood back up, deciding that it was perhaps better if he moved on and checked on the situation with Aphrodite.

So that was what he did, he went back to the main hall and met the Goddess of Love, asking her about what should be their next step to save Palutena. Aphrodite told him that, apparently, Hermes had gone missing, and that Zeus was looking for a solution to the 'Hades issue'. Pit was satisfied with those answers and asked if they would take part in the fight to save the Goddess of Light, but Aphrodite told him that they still needed to head for Dark Pit's dimension and, thus, take the direction of the Labyrinth of Deceit. The angel of light cringed at the memory of that place but agreed nonetheless.

The Goddess of Love then suggested that he went to exercise a little, since there was a lot of fighting to come, but when Pit nodded and went to the armory, he saw Dark Pit already there, hitting a target that he hung on the wall. The fire blazing in his red eyes, the nervousness behind his movements, the rage behind the curving of his lips, Pit had been frightened by that view. Thus, he stood at the door, staring in horror at the dark angel who muttered under his breath, expressing his wrath which was directed at none other than his own self. He aimed his new, wooden bow at the target and growled in anger, shooting a few inches away from the center. He wasn't proud of himself at all; he cursed and threw his weapon to the floor, nearly breaking it.

Pit cleared his throat to reveal his presence, which startled the other angel, and stepped up to the bow. He picked it up, scanned it with his deep blue eyes, before handing it to Dark Pit. The dark angel didn't say a word and aimed it at the target again, trying to keep focus despite his unsteadiness. Pit stood behind him, his hand over that of his darker twin, and looked over his shoulder. "A little more to the right."

"No!" Dark Pit snapped at him, trembling even more since he was heavily frustrated; he never managed to hit the center of this stupid target. "I'm supposed to—"

"A little to the right, Pittoo," Pit interrupted him, steering his twin's shaking hand to the exact position he wanted. He smiled, closing one eye to make sure it was the right angle, and nodded in satisfaction. "Now shoot."

Dark Pit growled and positioned his hand like he had it before, only for Pit to move it to the right again. "That won't work, Pit, stop bothering me!"

"Try to shoot it!"

The dark angel sighed and complied, extending the string of his bow. A purple arrow manifested, sparkles bouncing off of it and brushing against Dark Pit's skin, and he shot it. _Right in the middle._ The darker version of Pit blinked, bewildered, and turned around to look at Pit. The angel had been sitting down on a chair after he had directed his twin's hand and watched proudly—though Dark Pit couldn't tell if he was proud of himself or of him, maybe both at the same time. Pit stood up, clapping, and a wide grin spread across his lips. Dark Pit rolled eyes, lowered his bow, and folded his arms. "You were just lucky _this_ time."

The angel of light smirked and looked right into the other's eyes. "Oh yeah? Well, let me show you how 'lucky' I can be with bows."

After he said that, he snatched the bow from Dark Pit's hands and aimed for the target. He only took a second before adjusting the position of his arm, extending the string. An arrow of light was summoned and shone brighter than the sun itself, before it was shot and hit the middle of the target.

His darker twin was about to tell him that he'd been lucky again, so Pit shrugged and shot another one, once again hitting the center. Ridiculed, Dark Pit grabbed the bow and pouted, looking off. He knew that he had good aim… But it was true that, compared to his lighter half, he wasn't such a good archer as he thought he was. The dark angel growled and gritted his teeth. "You're a fucking cheater, where'd you enter the cheat code?"

"What are you talking about?! I didn't cheat!" Pit defended himself, raising his hands in the air to prove his innocence. "I'm just _better_ than you!"

Dark Pit's eyes were blazing with anger as he spun around, putting the weapon back on the shelves, and opted for his staff. He knew that there was no way that Pit could wield this one better than him, and that brought a sense of security in his chest. He thought he could poke fun at him? Ha! He'd see: he who laughs last laughs longer, and he'd experience it in the front row. Pit looked at him when Dark Pit aimed his staff at the target. As soon as he pulled the trigger, a fully charged shot hit the target, tearing it to shreds. Bits of paper flew around in the room, while Pit watched in awe.

Dark Pit turned to face him and handed him his staff. "See if you can do better this time around, Mr. I'm-the-best-fighter."

"But I've never—"

"I don't care, stop complaining! You seemed so overly confident, I want to see how far you can go with this," Dark Pit sneered, raising his hand in the air, then he moved towards the wall in order to hang a new target. He made sure to hang it upper than the other one. Pit nodded and grasped the weapon, aiming it in front of him. Dark Pit clicked his tongue and said, in his ordinary know-it-all tone: "You're supposed to shoot it sideways, you _fucking_ moron. You're _pathetic_ , you make me feel ashamed! Here, let me show you how it's done."

Pit held onto the weapon when Dark Pit placed himself behind him, his hand around that of his lighter twin. Both of their right arms outstretched, Dark Pit wrapped his left arm around Pit's waist and moved him to the side, so that he didn't face the weapon anymore. Pit turned his head to aim with the staff, slightly blushing but trying to keep his composure. Indeed, it seemed easier to shoot this thing in this position. But why use a weapon sideways? Pit narrowed his eyes, staring at the target, and pulled the trigger of the staff. A blue arrow hit the wall, rather far away from the target itself. "Well, I still gotta get used to it: my weapons are well-made and don't require to be shot from the side—why even use a weapon like that?!"

"Aw, so you're a sore loser, Pit-stain?" Dark Pit snickered.

"No! I just have to get used to it, this thing is stu—hard to handle, I meant to say."

"Riiiight~!" Dark Pit nodded, focused, and pulled Pit's hand more to the left. He also told him to raise his arm a little, so that he was exactly at the right spot. When the light angel shot, it hit the middle and the target was blown to pieces. The dark angel smirked: he was proud of his little _Light_ Pit, even though he wouldn't say it out loud. Instead of that, he snorted and said: "Took you long enough."

Pit stood proudly, folding his arms and smiling wide, before he gave the Dark Pit Staff back to its owner. "See? Seeeee~?! I'm _still_ the best!" he beamed, much to his darker counterpart's amusement. The light angel ruffled his own hair, patting himself on the head and wishing that Palutena would tell him he had been perfect, then his glistening eyes fell on his dark twin's figure. He had moved to the shelves again and was rummaging through them, looking for a specific weapon. Since they had been training up with bows and staffs, he thought that the next logical step would be to try with a palm.

Dark Pit thought that they would also need to train with cannons sometime in the near future, for they needed to master each and every weapon in his arsenal. They didn't know which one they would have in hand at times of battle; thus, they had to be prepared for every eventuality. Orbitars would also be a good idea, however, since they were mainly used for defense, they couldn't focus their attention on them. If they had spare time before their next battle, they would try them out, but until then they had more important things to focus on.

While Dark Pit searched for the Midnight Palm amongst all of those others he had, Pit had stepped up behind him and suddenly wrapped his arms around his waist.

Dark Pit froze for a second, his body urging him to move away, however he stayed right where he was. The warmth of his lighter half's body was enough for him to fight his fear; it was so nice, so delicate, so gentle, how could he refuse it? Why would he ever refuse a hug from this angel, this sunshine that he had longed to make his own for months? Pit's eyes zoomed through the different palms that Dark Pit pushed aside, before he planted a kiss on his darker version's shoulder. Dark Pit froze again but kept his composure, since after all he had absolutely loved that surprise kiss. Finally, after what had seemed like ages, he found the Midnight Palm. He took it, put it on, and faced Pit. The light angel's wings fluttered up and he let go, stepping back so that Dark Pit could walk up to the cross marking on the ground and aim for a newly hung target.

The dark angel squinted his ruby eyes, focusing on the target, and held out his hand. A deep blue orb formed within his palm, orb that he shot at the target—although he missed. He clicked his tongue, annoyed, and tried again, only to fail once more. Pit sat back on his chair, since he also sucked with palms, and watched his darker twin give it all he had. Eventually, after nothing but failures, Dark Pit raged and turned away from the target, cursing under his breath. Pit chuckled; the mere sound of his laughter lifted the dark angel's spirits immediately. "Don't give up, Pittoo! You've nearly got it!"

"You're willing to try? Those things are beyond stupid."

"No, we're just bad at using them. They are better for defensive measures…" Pit countered, before he stood up and put on the Midnight Palm that his twin had been handing to him. He went up to the 'x' mark, looked up at the target on the wall, and shut his eyes for a moment. Once he had collected himself, he opened them again and outstretched his arm. A dark blue orb appeared in his palm, identical to that in Dark Pit's, before he shot it. Even though he had been looking at the target in the eyes, he managed to shoot in the wall, far away from the piece of paper. He burst into laughter, shaking his head, and heard Dark Pit snort in his back. "See? We just don't know how to use them, but we can learn to master them!"

"Or, we can forget about them entirely and keep them for 'defensive measures'," Dark Pit sneered.

Pit rolled eyes and slowly took his palm off, putting it away in the shelves, amongst the dozen of other palms that were stored there. He briefly eyed at the stitches riddling his hands and winced; they didn't exactly hurt, but they were ugly. Maybe it'd be a good idea to wear gloves, at least for a while. That would ease his own mind on the matter.

Dark Pit glanced at him, perplexed by his lack of movement, and swiftly stepped closer to him. He gulped down his fright and grabbed Pit's wounded hand, bringing it to his lips to give it a gentle kiss. Pit's cheeks flushed and he laughed nervously, taken aback. The dark angel let go of his lighter version's hand and leaned towards his face, kissing him on the cheek. He wanted to be closer to him so badly, but his body wouldn't let him. Although he knew that Pit would never hurt him, fear still lingered in his stomach and prevented him from making a move. Pit plunged his blue eyes in the ruby orbs of his twin and slightly parted his lips. Dark Pit raised an eyebrow and smirked. "You're thinking so loudly that I can almost hear you."

"And what am I thinking about?" Pit inquired, his eyes sparkling with joy.

Dark Pit pulled the light angel closer, his arms wrapped around his waist, and he leaned to his ear. Pit blushed and stood still, not daring to hug Dark Pit back, since he knew that one wrong move would ruin the moment. He didn't want the dark angel to run away from him again. "You're thinking about palms, of course~," his darker twin whispered in his ear, which sent shivers down Pit's spine.

"Hm. Depends on the perspective," Pit answered, shutting his eyes and enjoying the embrace. He felt free in Dark Pit's arms, freer than he'd ever been in his life before. He knew that he would hold onto those arms for the rest of his life. "Although I may indeed be thinking about palms, just not those in your shelves."

"Could it be those around your waist, by any chance~?" Dark Pit asked, though he already knew the answer from Pit's sudden tension. The dark angel snickered and drew back, looking right into those blue oceans that he loved to drown into. His arms still wrapped around the other, his heart started racing and his eyes instinctively fell to the angel of light's lips. He wished to kiss those away, but could he? Would Pit allow him—mainly, would his _debilitating fear_ of contact allow him to? Would his memories allow him to? He cringed at the thought of them; he could almost feel those impatient lips forced on his own…

Dark Pit shivered and hesitated to recoil, however he managed to suppress those thoughts to focus on Pit. The light angel was looking at him with that light gleam in his eyes, and the dark angel's heart melted instantly. Deciding that he'd been way too cautious around the love of his life, Dark Pit took a deep breath and leaned forward. His heart was screaming in his ears, begging him to do it, to stop thinking too much and to let his feelings lead the way, however… A few inches away from Pit's mouth, he opened his ruby orbs and froze on the spot. Too close, way too close. Memories started rising in his mind and he gulped loudly. His body started shaking, and soon enough he had pushed the light angel off of him and ran away from the room.

"Wha—Pittoo, wait!" Pit's eyes blinked open, for he was confused, and watched sadly as the dark angel rushed out of the armory, once again fleeing. He bit his lower lip, heartbroken, and sat in the chair next to him, taking his head between his hands. What made it so difficult? He didn't understand, he had made sure to stay still… He had made sure to remain motionless, so that they avoided this situation. "What did I do?" he asked himself out loud, voicing out his worries from within.

That was when he noticed a figure standing next to him, wearing all pink with bright, blond hair. She rested a hand on his shoulder, just next to his new medallion, and squatted down so that she could be at his level. "That didn't go the way you wanted, did it?"

"He's scared of me," Pit replied, his voice cracking up when he said those painful words. He shook his head, left in the dark as to why it was the case: he had never done anything… Why was it all so complicated, when really it should be the simplest thing? "I don't know why but he is."

"I bet that he's not scared of you specifically," Aphrodite asserted.

"Then what is it that he fears, Damsel Aphrodite? I don't think I'm doing anything wrong…"

The Goddess of Love sighed, also perplexed by the dark angel's attitude, however she still managed to give advice to the hopeless little white angel at her side. "Perhaps you should take it slow with him. It's visible that he craves your touch, but for now he's scared… of himself, I would say. Give him time to fight his fear, you are probably his first love. With what he's been through—"

Pit groaned and clenched his fists. "But he never tells me anything! You know, earlier, I thought about asking him. I thought about it, but I'm scared of hurting him in the process. I get that he's been through a lot, _so have I_! I just want to understand what's happening, I want to know! I'm willing to listen to what he has to say!"

"Well then, Pit-stain. Follow me, in private," Dark Pit's voice arose.

* * *

 _To be continued…_

* * *

 **Updated: 02/11/2019**


	21. Chapter 20: Darker prospects

_**Hello everyone! This time, I am not late but early—it's a miracle, I know. An enemy switches camps (she never really does but shhhhh) in this chapter, I'll let you guess who that is! To discover it, I'll let you dive right into the reading! This chapter is, to me, a lot of fun. Tell me what you think about it!**_

 _ **Yours truly, Circle of J.**_

* * *

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from the Kid Icarus series. The deities mentioned are taken from Greek Mythology, remastered the way I imagine them. What I own, on the other hand, is the plot.**

* * *

 **Kid Icarus: Heirs of the Light**

* * *

 _Chapter 20: Darker prospects_

* * *

Dark Pit glanced at Pit once he was done with his very scarce explanation. The light angel was shocked, if his wide eyes and his lack of response meant anything. The revelations had been painful, they had brought back horrendous memories that the darker version of Pit would've loved to forget until the end of Time. But he knew how necessary they were, how essential they were to the future of their relationship; after all, Pit needed to learn about Dark Pit's past at one point or another if they were together, it was inevitable. Now of course, he hadn't given all the details, he had been very selective in what he had chosen to say.

He had mentioned the rise of Evil, but refused to say that it was because Palutena had been killed. He had talked about his servitude for Hermes, but did not touch a word on the fact that he had been banished; he instead had played it off as though he had had enough and left on his own account. Although he had kept many secrets, he had been honest with the reasons why Medusa and Hades had been rising and wrecking everything: they wanted to dominate the Universe, which was also why their incarnations in this dimension wanted dominance.

Pit had asked a few questions, mainly about his darker twin's personal backstory, and Dark Pit had denied him any answers; he couldn't tell him that he was different before, that he wore a cyan blue outfit, he couldn't tell him that he had bright, amethyst eyes, and that was more of a luminous person in the past—although he came with his pack of bad mood as well, there was no denying that. Dark Pit couldn't tell him, because it would hurt his pride. The Days of Darkness had changed many people, most noticeably the Gods, but also their subordinates: humans had grown greedy and cruel, the members of the Gods' armies merciless, and Dark Pit himself, after he had witnessed countless bloodbaths and other massacres, had become bitter and violent, things that he hated so much when he was still his own self.

But those were details that Dark Pit never wanted Pit to know, because he secretly feared that, if he did know, he would dread Medusa's upsurge so badly that he would stop fighting, in order to hide in a corner of his dimension and hope never to be found again.

Pit remained awfully silent, lost in his own thoughts on the subject, because he felt that Dark Pit wasn't entirely true with him. Their connection didn't lie to him, he could see right through Dark Pit like an open book—actually probably better, since he couldn't read… Anyhow —the angel of light had a gut feeling for those kinds of things as well, so it was not entirely their connection which gave it away. He instinctively knew when he was lied to, even with Palutena—most of the time, that was. Though, Pit also knew that, if his twin refused to tell him about something, it was probably for his own good and that of others: with the upcoming threats, perhaps it was better to keep some details secret. Medusa could've been spying on them this whole time, and she certainly didn't need to know how her other incarnation succeeded at dominating everyone. That could give her ideas… and _that_ was arguably the last thing that they needed.

The light angel, sitting on his bed right next to Dark Pit, joined his hands and hummed. Maybe he could ask him a few more questions… He had noticed that his darker version had refused to answer to most of his questions when they revolved around himself, but why was that? Why did he keep so many secrets? If it dealt with his own person and his previous life, Medusa couldn't use it against them, right? So what was the point of keeping those important details hidden?

Dark Pit eventually sighed and folded his arms, tensed by the oppressive silence between them. He hoped that Pit had no other questions, for he would not answer them either way. "Now you know everything you need to know," he said to fill in the void, since it had started to stress him out.

"No, I don't: I know what you wanted to tell me, but that's already a good start," Pit replied, dead serious.

"That's why I said: 'everything you _need_ to know'. Everything else doesn't matter, they're pointless details that nobody cares about."

His lighter half wasn't so convinced: he had that slight frown, that curve on his lips that told his darker counterpart he was aware that he had lied to him and omitted details. However, the dark angel decided that, if he faked not seeing it, he would not be asked about those missing parts. Since that suited him well, that was what he chose to do. Pit resigned to the idea that he'd get no more, but couldn't help with asking: "Have you always been working for Hermes? Or did you work for Lady Palutena? Wait, did she even exist in your world? You haven't mentioned her."

Dark Pit gritted his teeth, his heart pounding: no, he couldn't tell him that she had been killed. He had no will to wreck his heart. So he just snorted, his eyes gleaming with tears nonetheless, and said: "I don't know, I never met her if she existed." when in reality, he had witnessed her death. He remembered her, the bright little Goddess with long green hair, screaming at the top of her lungs and begging him to save her. In his dimension, she was just a child; a harmless little girl, who was supposed to be under Zeus' constant protection. Except that, when Hades had taken control of the Pantheon, Zeus had been defeated and had succumbed to darkness. Thus, he had sold his own daughter's life… Dark Pit cringed at the memory, turning his head away so that Pit wouldn't see it.

The light angel looked lost in his own thoughts again, probably knowing that he had lied—although Dark Pit wouldn't bet on it, Pit could still be an oblivious idiot when he really wanted to—and lied in the bedsheets with a sigh. That had surely been a lot of information to take in, and it foreshadowed a very unfortunate future for this dimension still held in the light of the sun. Pit was a highly sensitive little sweetheart: learning about horrors and massacres, bloodsheds and wars could easily ruin his day. Though, this time, he seemed to handle it pretty well. Yes, he looked absolutely torn apart, but at least he wasn't crying yet. "Thanks for telling me all of this, Pittoo," Pit whispered, and Dark Pit almost didn't hear him.

"Oh, don't thank me yet. You'll thank me once we've saved your dimension from that hell," Dark Pit retorted, before he also lied down in the bed. He had made sure to be laying down with his feet next to Pit's head, so that the light angel would not even think about hugging him. The darker twin's ruby eyes watched the ceiling while the two angels lied down in silence, both thinking about the revelations.

Pit eventually rose up, sitting back on the bed, and his eyes met Dark Pit's. "That still doesn't tell me why you fear my touch."

"It's not _your_ touch, Pit," Dark Pit sighed. "It's everyone's."

"How come?"

The dark angel looked up, glancing into those shiny blue orbs, and pulled himself up so that he could start explaining. Speaking while lying down was a pain in the long run; he knew that telling Pit about his fear and its origins would take him longer than two minutes, so he had chosen to sit up. He looked away from Pit, trying to find his words and selecting what he would and would not mention, until he was ready to talk his heart out.

Dark Pit glanced back at Pit and forced himself to grab his hand, holding it and squeezing it so tight that his knuckles were turning white. "You see, during the Days of Darkness, which means our current era, there are a lot of… horrible stuff that happen to people. Since I've been observing humans, I've seen those things. I've witnessed people being torn to shreds by their best friends, I've witnessed women being raped by their children, I've seen all those things. Whenever someone touches me, the images come back to my mind—it's not your fault, it's not anyone's. If anything, it's probably Medusa's. Whenever someone gets close to me, I see the horror on the human's faces when they were killed, abused, deceived by their closest relatives. Also there was that one time, where I had been threatened. It was a human, so I didn't exactly feel afraid, though maybe I should've. He had lost it, the darkness of the skies had consumed his soul. So when he had seen me, with my dark wings, he had been appealed. He told me that my aura was highly attractive, and that he longed for it. Of course, him being a human, I played it off as though he couldn't do anything."

"But he did, didn't he?" Pit inquired, heavy tears at the back of his horrified eyes.

Dark Pit gulped and hesitated: should he tell him what happened? He already looked so worked up… Maybe it wasn't a good idea to talk about this at all. The dark angel shook his head and attempted to stand up, to flee the conversation, however Pit pulled him back to the bed and asked him to tell him. Thinking that it'd probably worry him even more if he refused to say, Dark Pit lowered his head and started explaining again what happened that dreadful night: "He raped me. Ever since then, I have been terrified at the idea of loving someone, because that would mean that I'd have to give them my body—that same body that this human had taken against my will. So, trust me Pit, it's not you. It's surely not you, you're so… gentle, and sweet, I know for certain that you'd never hurt me. But my body is still scarred."

Pit nodded, understanding, and squeezed Dark Pit's hand to reassure him. The dark angel didn't draw back, only looking into his blue eyes as though to make sure that he wouldn't take advantage of his weakness. The lighter twin smiled, his eyes sweating with tears, and said: "I'll give you all the time that you need, Pittoo. You know I would never force you."

"I like it when you force me into a kiss though," Dark Pit smirked, and that warmed Pit's heavy heart. If he was back to being his playful self, then that meant that everything was better. The dark angel recoiled his hand and stood up when he saw Aphrodite walking in. She seemed to be concerned, but no words came out of her mouth. Dark Pit rushed to her side, put his hands on her shoulders and asked, panicked: "What's wrong, Mother? What's happening?"

Aphrodite hugged him tight, which was sudden and unexpected, then turned to look at both of the angels. "They have Hermes!"

"Good, that'll teach him something: be less of an asshole to everyone—even those who trust you with their lives—and you'll have less enemies trying to get that ass."

Dark Pit looked definitely satisfied, even though the situation was worsening: that jerk didn't deserve less than to be abducted and tortured by the Underworld. Although he was not the God he remembered him to be, it still pleased him to think that, to some extent, the God of Travel was paying for what he did. Now he wished that it'd have been his dimension's incarnation, but it was better than nothing.

Pit, on the other hand, sprung to his feet and ran towards the door, almost jumping over the staircase that led down to the main hall. He hurried to the armory, went to the shelves and scooped up his Palutena Bow along with the Dark Pit Staff, then sprinted out of there to hop in the Lightning Chariot. Dark Pit ran up to him, grasping his staff, and frowned, wondering where Pit was heading. Aphrodite soon joined them with her own bow, which shot cutesy arrows with hearts instead of a traditional pointy tips. She sat on the back of the vehicle, panting already.

Dark Pit jumped aboard and Pit wasted no time, asking Phos and Lux to head straight for the Labyrinth of Deceit. The dark angel admitted that he was a little perplexed by this agitation: was something happening? So what if the Underworld army had a hold on Hermes? Why the Labyrinth of Deceit, of all places? Since he was growing sick of being confused and left in the dark, he decided to ask Pit: "Why are we going there? Now that's one place I know _for sure_ that you hate."

"I do," Pit answered, nodding, but he didn't take his eyes off of his path. "But that's also where the Mirror of Truth, or what remains of it, is located. And we have to get there before Medusa."

Dark Pit rolled his eyes, wearing his usual bored expression, and slightly shrugged it off. "I'm sure this thing doesn't w—" then he gasped in realization. _Oh fuck, shit, that's bad!_ he thought to himself. He quickly snatched the halter from Pit's hands and whipped the unicorns mercilessly. The magical horses neighed at him threateningly, but he didn't care and only whipped their backs harder than before. "Hurry, for Zeus' sake! We've got no time to waste!"

And thus they sped towards the hidden Labyrinth of Deceit, in a clear night sky—that was, until dark clouds gathered above their vehicle. Dark, unnatural clouds that threatened to fry them on the spot with burning hot lightning. Pit stood up in the Chariot, despite the fact that Dark Pit had told him to stay hidden from sight, and raised his bow towards the angry skies. Medusa's figure appeared in the distance, sneering at the trio and their attempt to overtake her. She looked at their Chariot and snapped her fingers; a dazzlingly bright flash of lightning struck Phos. "Phos! Are you okay?" Pit cried out, his heart pounding in his chest, and he clenched his fists. "You'll pay for that, Goddess of Darkness!"

"Aw, you're so adorable, Pit! I can't wait to turn you into one of my puppets, you'll be so much fun~!" Medusa giggled, then she tried to strike him with lightning. He used one of his blades to counter the attack, and even though it seemed almost impossible, he successfully reflected the strike. The Goddess of Darkness snarled: he was getting on her nerves, but she would take care of him later.

Dark Pit patted the back of the hurt unicorn. "Keep fighting it, Phos, we're nearly there!" Pushing his own limits, Phos kept on going despite the growing pain in his entire body, knowing that it was a matter of life or death for his master on board. Lux whinnied in horror when his partner's legs turned to stone, and eventually the unicorn's entire body was transformed and fell from the sky. Dark Pit tried to counter the sudden dive of the Chariot, but soon enough Lux had also been struck and the vehicle started its descent towards the Overworld below. "Shit, Pit, we're losing it!"

"Pittoo, please, think of something!" Pit begged him, still reflecting the lightning strikes with the tip of his blades; sharp reflexes, Dark Pit had to admit.

"I'm trying to think, but I can't with you screaming in my ear!"

Medusa snickered and watched them with deep, profound bliss, while Pit still managed to reflect her lightning with his pointless, though bothersome little blades. Eventually, when he had grown sick of having to watch out for every strike, the angel of light brought them together to form his precious Palutena Bow. He spun it with such speed that it generated a shield made out of pure, blue light. He stood before his partners, thus making sure that they were under protection, and smiled since every bolt of lightning was deflected effortlessly by the shield of light.

Dark Pit told him to keep it up for as long as he could, while he himself was considering their options. He turned towards Aphrodite, about to ask her if she could give them the Power of Flight, before he heard Pit calling him out. His shield was weakening, they didn't have a lot of time on their hands.

Irritated, the Goddess of Darkness charged up one devastating thunderbolt, which struck Pit's shield and obliterated it. The angel gasped and quickly jumped to the side before the next strike, perfectly aimed, could hit him. Dark Pit demanded that he hide in the Chariot, but the fool didn't listen: he evaded another bolt of lightning and lost his balance. "Pittoo, help me up!" he panicked.

"Fuck, Pit! Why don't you ever listen?!" Dark Pit snapped at him, before realizing that his twin was on the verge of falling off the Chariot. His wings stretched in horror and he dived right for Pit, trying to grasp his hand and pull him back aboard; however he was too late and Pit fell from the vehicle. "No, Pit! No, fuck, no!" Dark Pit screamed at the top of his lungs, slamming his fist against the side of the Chariot. "Fucking no, dammit!"

Overflown with a boiling rage in her stomach, Aphrodite promised Medusa that she would take her revenge and that, no matter how hard she tried, they would stop her, but threats only made the Goddess of Darkness laugh as a general rule. "Aw, how ridiculous can you be Aphrodite?"

Dark Pit watched Pit fall from the sky and soon lost track of him when he entered a wild forest. The dark angel felt his eyes burn and looked daggers at Medusa. "Now trust my fucking words: you're fucking dead. No matter where the fuck you're planning to hide, I'll find you. YOU'RE DEAD, YOU HEAR ME?!"

Medusa sneered and considered that she had done enough to slow them down. She vanished from sight, her laughter echoing in the skies, and the Chariot crashed into a field.

Dark Pit was thrown to the ground, face first in the muddy grass, and Aphrodite had managed to jump off of the Lightning Chariot and land on her two feet. The dark angel raised his head, spitting out some blades of grass and coughing at their horrible taste, and looked around in order to find the forest Pit had fallen into. His eyes filled with tears when he did not see it: they were located in the middle of tall, snowy mountains, and there was absolutely no forest in sight. Dark Pit forced himself on his feet, his heart on the brink of exploding, and turned to face the Goddess of Love. She looked just as desperate as he was: they were supposed to do this together, the three of them. And they had been split, with close to no chance of finding Pit ever again. With the Lightning Chariot decommissioned, they were highly restrained in their movements. First thing: they were unable to reach the Labyrinth of Deceit before Medusa, which meant… very bad news—and second thing: they couldn't head back to Viridi's Sanctum nor look around for Pit by zooming across the land.

In blunt words: they had just been defeated.

Aphrodite felt heavy tears roll down her cheeks and gave in to her disappointment, sobbing loudly. "I'm so sorry, Dark Pit… I thought we could do it, I believed that we could stop her together… I should've known that it was too late, what did we hope? Us Gods, we can be very stubborn… With the increasing threat of the darkness, we thought that we could still save one dimension…"

"What do you mean 'one'? What about the others?" Dark Pit asked, puzzled, until he understood and horror crept in his eyes. "You mean that _all_ of the other dimensions have already fallen?! Not just mine?!"

The Goddess of Love fell to her knees, bringing her hands up to her face and whimpering in desperation. That was enough to answer Dark Pit's question. The dark angel felt the cold breeze brushing against his skin and let tears flow down his cheeks. He sniffed, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists. His wrath was unprecedented, he had never felt so enraged in his existence. He couldn't let go, for he had hoped to save the universe. He had hoped that his union with Pit would successfully repel the darkness. And he knew that it could, they had to hold onto the faint possibility that they would cross paths. He couldn't let go, he wouldn't let go: he remembered the horror in Pit's eyes when he had told him about what had happened to his own dimension, he had no will of witnessing it again. Dark Pit would fight against Medusa until the very last one of his breaths.

Aphrodite looked up at him, her pink eyes flooded with sorrow, while the dark angel was growling like a wild animal kept in a cage. "Forgive me, Dark Pit… I thought we could save the universe, but I should've known better…"

"No, you should know better _right now_ ," Dark Pit countered, then he met her eyes. "I'm ready to kick her fucking ass back to the Realm of Souls, whether it be for Destiny's sake or simply for personal revenge."

* * *

.oOo.

* * *

"Pit! They're coming! Please, open your eyes, tell me you're not dead!"

 _Wake up, Pit! Pull yourself up, you've got to go!_

"Pit, come on!"

Hands shaking his body. Pit moaned in pain, confused, feeling blood running down his forehead. What had happened after he had fallen from the Lightning Chariot? He had been… in a forest or something like that… It had lots of trees, that he remembered clearly, since his body had crashed into most of them… But what after that? He couldn't remember, he had thought he would die. He had thought about Dark Pit, he had hoped that he would make it out alive, even if he didn't. And… then he blacked out. Right? Pit slowly fluttered his eyes open; his whole body was a living pain, as though he had been stabbed a hundred times. There was… someone leaning above him. It was a she, if the sweet, high-pitched voice told him anything… A woman then, with… long blue hair, or something like that. She had eyes similar to Aphrodite's, pink with hearts in them… Was he dreaming? Was he dead?

The hands shook him again, and he soon understood that that woman was trying to talk to him. Though, he couldn't hear her words anymore… He suddenly felt as if his head had been plunged underwater and gasped to breathe. His vision immediately went back to normal, and the pain was completely gone. Pit had to guess that it had been hot spring water, and that this woman, whoever she was, had saved him from certain death. The woman, yes: she had long blue hair attached in a ponytail and wide pink eyes. She reminded him of someone, her… energy did, although it was way stronger than he remembered it to be. "What is… this?" he asked, his voice still very weak, and the woman smiled widely.

"Oh, Pit! You're awake, thank Zeus! Here, you need to take this!" the woman said, pushing what looked like the frame of the destroyed Mirror of Truth. She forced him to take it into his arms and turned away, listening at the door in front of them. There were voices on the other side of the door, which seemed to wake Pit. The woman smiled again and walked up to him, cupping his face with her hands. "Shh, I know you're confused, but if Light fades from this world, everyone goes with it."

Pit blinked and frowned, then he recognized the patters on the ground. The Labyrinth of Deceit? How did he end up there? And that woman, who was—"Pandora!" he cried out, quickly stepping back with the Mirror of Truth in his arms. Wait… Why was she helping him? Wasn't she working for Medusa, wasn't she one of her commanders? Shouldn't she be giving _her_ the remains of the Mirror of Truth? Pit shook his head, perplexed, but wore his determined expression nonetheless. She was an enemy, and he was going to fight her, even if it was to be the last thing he ever did! "Pandora! Goddess of Calamit—"

"SHHHH!" Pandora exclaimed, a finger on her own lips to signify that he had to keep quiet. The voices had stopped talking, probably had they heard him, and Pandora walked up to Pit. "I know it's confusing, trust me. I'll warp you back to Viridi's Sanctum before they find you."

"Before who finds me?" Pit asked in a low voice, then his eyes lit up with hope. "Pittoo is here? You found him too?"

The Goddess shook her head negatively. "Medusa wants the Mirror of Truth, she's here with Thanatos."

"Him? Again?"

"Yes, now, shh. Here," she said, then she snapped her fingers and a portal opened behind Pit. Through it, the light angel could see the main hall of Viridi's Sanctum. Pandora gestured towards him, asking him to walk in. "Save the Light, Pit."

Pit didn't ask anymore questions, making sure that he still had the Mirror of Truth against him before he walked in the portal. He briefly looked back, quick enough to see Medusa open the door to Pandora's room and scream at her face, demanding that she stopped. Pandora had closed the portal instantly, and Pit hoped that it had been fast enough to prevent Medusa from knowing where he was hiding.

* * *

.oOo.

* * *

Instantly after that, Pit let out a sigh of relief, still puzzled by what had just happened, and went to the office where he set the Mirror of Truth. He carefully placed it on his bed, looking at it in disbelief. "Good thing is, Medusa doesn't have it yet," he said to himself, running his hand over the frame of the broken mirror. "Bad thing is, she will probably be coming to kill me now."

The light angel's wings fluttered up at the thought of Dark Pit and Aphrodite, and he wondered if they had made it. His heart ached when he recalled seeing his dear Phos and Lux falling to their death, but he tried not to focus on them. They had done what they had to do to save them. Even though they hadn't done it in the end, he was very proud of them, and prayed Zeus that they rested in peace and quiet. His precious unicorns… He would miss them dearly, and always cherish the memory of them. He could remember the time he had seen them for the first time, zooming through the sky before him; they were so majestic, and so faithful to their master. They had loved Pit, and had had no trouble expressing it in their own ways.

Pit teared up at the thought and shook his head to look back at the Mirror of Truth. However, that didn't help him, since his thoughts drifted towards Dark Pit and he found himself believing that he had died. He would've saved him if he wasn't dead, he knew that he would've. Or perhaps he was lost? Maybe, with the crash of the Lightning Chariot, he was lost somewhere and had no idea how to find him? How he wished that he could tell him he was alright and safe…

All thanks to Pandora. He chuckled at the thought: "Pandora of all people! Pandora saved me, but why? What's in it for her? She's one of Medusa's commanders, and she's also a Goddess! Why would she save me? Didn't Viridi use to say that angels were 'insignificant'? Oh, no, maybe she said that about humans. Still! Why would Pandora help me escape from Medusa—with the Mirror of Truth? That makes no sense… I wonder what Lady Palutena would've said. Maybe she'd have said: 'But Pit, it's because you're handsome and she wouldn't want to waste that!'. I agree with that, now _that_ 's one thing that makes sense… Heh, maybe… Maybe I should stop talking to myself…"

Pit looked off to the side, only to see his abandoned scarf. He stood up and grasped it, examining it closely and noticing the bite marks in it. "Stupid Reapers: scarves are not food! Ugh… It still probably tastes better than bones though. Or, well, souls, Lady Palutena said that they were soul gatherers. So… I wonder what a soul tastes like: does it vary? If it's a woman, is it like eating a fruit? Or a flower? Wow, Pit… Your mind is drifting off right now, and you're still… talking to yourself…"

Pit sighed and put his scarf on, a bit reluctantly since it was completely torn apart, but it was an important part of his attire. Then his eyes focused on the bed he should've been sharing with Dark Pit and several questions came to his mind. "Okay, last time talking to myself, but… What about Pittoo? And his story? It seemed too real to be made up, so maybe he wasn't completely messing with me. So his… dimension or whatever has fallen in the hands of Medusa and Hades? I can't help but wonder where Lady Palutena was. I can hardly believe that she didn't exist, since it's an alternate… reality—something like that. Now I can't help but wonder: why did Pittoo stop working for Hermes? He looked happy when Damsel Aphrodite mentioned him being held captive by the Underworld… Did they argue? Did they fight? Aw, man… Wish I'd been there to see it, it must've been the fight of the century! Pittoo's a beast, and I've never seen Hermes fight, so I would've loved to see it… Maybe I can find a replay or something on the internet. Okay, okay, I'm done talking to myself this time!"

With those words, the angel of light sat down on the bed and eyed at the Mirror of Truth next to him. He decided that it would be a good idea to take a nap, thus he went to the door and pushed Viridi's old desk in front of it, to make sure that no Underling could break through during his slumber. Satisfied with the defense system that he had come up with, Pit lied down in his bed. His thoughts lingered around Dark Pit, and eventually he found himself snuggling into his numerous pillows and kissing the one under his head in his sleep.

* * *

 _To be continued…_

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 **Updated: 02/11/2019**


	22. Chapter 21: Worthy sacrifice

_**Hello my people! How are we doing today? I come with another chapter, which I hope you will like! This one is probably the longest so far in terms of words. But it should be rather fine, it's barely 9K :) Tell me what you think of it!**_

 _ **I'll leave you to it! R &R if you feel like it :)**_

 _ **Yours truly, Circle of J.**_

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 **Disclaimer: ****I do not own the characters from the Kid Icarus series. The deities mentioned are taken from Greek Mythology, remastered the way I imagine them. What I own, on the other hand, is the plot.**

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 **Kid Icarus: Heirs of the Light**

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 _Chapter 21: Worthy sacrifice_

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The skies had grown noticeably darker by the time they had made it to Magnus' city. It was not a natural dark, it was an eerie, threatening dark, that could only be the result of Medusa overtaking the Light. The sun had gone from its dazzling glow to a pitiful shimmer, constantly covered with heavy clouds. Its rays were quickly captured before they could ever reach the surface of the Overworld. The skies themselves were becoming purple with how deep their original blue had turned over time.

Dark Pit knew that whatever they decided to do against the darkness' rise, it would be too late; his journey alongside Aphrodite had persuaded him that he'd never make it back to Viridi's Sanctum, plus they hadn't found the forest in which Pit had fallen on the way. So, it was safe to assume that all hope had been lost for them: Pit was probably dead, hopefully from the fall and not because he had been devoured by some forest monsters, and Dark Pit had managed to break his right wing when he slipped all the way down to the foot of a mountain. He was lucky that it was the only thing he'd broken; his descent had been rather impressive. Aphrodite thought he would be dead when she arrived next to him, but much to her relief he felt okay enough to keep walking. And that was what they did for the past two weeks: they kept walking towards Magnus' city, since the dark angel had wanted to tell him that they had lost. He deserved to know what was about to happen to his world.

Dark Pit took a deep breath, closed his empty, soulless eyes, and knocked at the wooden door. The streets were deserted, since the looming threat of Medusa scared the humans enough for them to hide all-day long. Even cats and dogs were too shy to walk out of their hiding holes. It appeared as though the city itself was dead. Dark Pit looked around, depressed, and soon the door opened on Magnus. From the look on his face and the redness of his gray eyes, he knew exactly what was going on. Without a word, he allowed Dark Pit and the Goddess of Love to walk in. The dark angel teared up and said nothing, walking inside and sitting on the couch—or more so collapsing on it, since his legs couldn't hold his weight any longer.

Aphrodite sat next to him, a hand on his shoulder, and the dark angel eyed at the human who was slowly closing the door. Magnus looked so heartbroken, Dark Pit admitted that he loathed to see him that way: his eyes were dry and his whole body was shaking. Since he hadn't seen Pit with them, he had probably assumed that the angel of light was dead, and rightfully so. Their last ray of light… He was the one person they were supposed to save at all costs, for he represented Hope and incarnated their only chance of survival. What was there left, now that he was gone? Dark Pit bit his lower lip and sniffed, a sob passing through his closed lips. His little sunshine, he had disappeared just as quickly as the sun itself. He remembered him, with his wonderful hazel locks, his beaming attitude, his wide, blue oceans that always seemed so full of live, of joy. He could also remember the taste of his lips, the feeling of his skin under his fingers. Dark Pit sobbed harder at the memories: why did it have to end so soon?

 _"Do you think fate is written?"_ he could hear Pit say. The dark angel shuddered at the sound of his voice and shook his head vehemently: no, he couldn't believe that fate, whether it existed or not, had been written this way. He could not believe that the Gods had decided to torture him and kill the sweetest angel the whole Universe had ever known. What did they gain from it? This dimension was falling in Medusa's hands, just like all of the others before it, and soon the Universe would be plunged in perpetual darkness, in slumber, away from the warm light of the sun. Away from dreams, away from hopes, away from faith… Hatred would fill Love's heart through Aphrodite, Darkness would lure and seduce Light by imprisoning Palutena. It would end this way, everyone would fall and the Universe would end. All because he couldn't help but snap at his precious little Pit when he was on the brink of death.

Dark Pit sighed, feeling empty inside, as though he had been torn apart physically and emotionally. "We lost…" he whispered, then tears blurred his vision. Aphrodite hugged him close, crying as well, while Magnus looked at them with broken eyes. The human didn't know what to say, grieving the loss of his friend and also their blatant defeat.

"I will… I will go back to my temple. Now there's nothing that can be done…" Aphrodite stood up, brushing her fingers against Dark Pit's broken wing, and earned a cry of pain from that swift touch. She glanced at Magnus and smiled in an apologetic way before walking out, going back to her temple and waiting for the end of Time to strike them down. They all knew that Medusa would make it feel terribly long, so that everyone would suffer and lose their minds in the process, but what was there to do? Pit was dead, and with him gone Palutena would succumb in no time.

While Aphrodite made her way out, Dark Pit, on the other hand, didn't find the strength to move, crying his heart out with his face hidden behind his hands. The room was silent around them, only the heartrending sounds of the dark angel's whimpers bounced against the walls.

Magnus decided to sit down next to him as they waited for Light to die out, for the sun to vanish. "Dark angel, do you not have a bit of hope left in your heart?"

"No, it's all dead," Dark Pit answered honestly, slowly raising his head to look at the human in the eyes. "It died when my Pit fell from the Lightning Chariot and it was my fault for not helping him out. I know he's gone now, because of me, and it… it wrecks me, Magnus."

Magnus nodded, absent-minded, and stared at the ceiling, whereas the angel was back to his mourning. He thought about what he could've said, what he could've done to help his dark angelic friend, but nothing came to his mind. Pit was dead, he had been ejected from the Lightning Chariot, according to Dark Pit's words. He supposed that it had been high up in the sky, otherwise he wouldn't claim so vehemently that he was gone. Unless he saw his corpse on the ground? Somehow, he hoped that he hadn't… Magnus didn't want Dark Pit to go through what he had to go through, when he witnessed Gaol's death. Knowing that someone was dead was already bad enough, but seeing them in front of your very eyes was even worse: it forced your brain into accepting it, without giving you the time to think about the events.

Dark Pit looked up at Magnus after a while and brandished his staff, which he had put down on the couch just next to him. The human glanced at it, scanned it with his eyes, and eventually eyed back at the dark angel. He seemed so enraged, completely out of his mind, and Magnus could only guess that the darkness was starting to nibble at his soul. "Dark angel, don't do something you will regret," he tried to warn him, but his advice fell in deaf ears.

Dark Pit sprung to his feet, tears drowning his entire face, and swiftly pushed his bangs off of his eyes. He turned towards Magnus, a frightening fire blazing in his ruby orbs. "I will take my revenge on this monster—"

"No, dark angel—"

"I must, and I will! She can't hide from me!"

Magnus stood up and pulled Dark Pit by the shoulders, thus ensuring that he could not run off. "Don't do it, you will di—"

"LOOK WHAT SHE DID TO _MY_ PIT!" the dark angel cried out to interrupt him, wiggling around and breaking free from the human's hold. He spun around, clenching his fists and glaring at the sky that he could see through the window. No matter where Medusa was hiding, he was going to find her, and he'd die trying to take her down. For Pit's sake. He would never give up, he couldn't, he refused to sit there and wait for this dimension to turn dark. He didn't care how much it would cost him, he was going to find Medusa. And he was going to fight her, for he didn't care how strong she could be anymore. He didn't fear her, he loathed her: his hatred could overcome any powers that she might have. His burning rage, his undying wrath, he would use it against her and make her burn in it. Dark Pit held onto his staff, tightening his grip around it, and growled: "I promised her that no matter where she would be hiding, I'd kill her. And that's what I'm going to do."

Magnus sighed sadly, knowing that the angel would never make it on his own, and rubbed the back of his head. "Nothing I can say to make you change your mind, I presume… I wish you luck then. I saw a few regiments of Underlings in the woods, maybe you… maybe you can find her there. Please, just don't get yourself killed: I have enough with Pit to mourn."

"She can't kill me," Dark Pit claimed, laughing humorlessly. "Fate doesn't have it that way. But she can die, and I'll show her just how painful death can be."

The human didn't say anything and watched as the dark angel ran out of his house, slamming the door shut. He was concerned, obviously, but what could he say to deter him? He had the same rage boiling in his stomach when Gaol had been killed, he had sworn that he would kill Medusa for what she had done to her. Could he really stop Dark Pit if he was determined to act? No, of course he couldn't, for he yearned to see the Goddess of Darkness die as well. Though it was worrying: the dark angel was so small, so short compared to that monstrous woman. How could he stand a chance? It didn't matter how anymore, since he had run out, looking straight for her. All that was left to do was hope that he would make it out alive. He was their last chance of stopping Medusa, after that all would be lost.

* * *

.oOo.

* * *

Dark Pit ran for around ten minutes before he found the forest surrounding the city. He grasped his staff, ready for battle, and stepped in, searching for a sign of the Goddess of Darkness in midst of the heavy fog. The air was suffocating, but that wasn't enough to dishearten the angel. His eyes scanned his surroundings as he stepped deeper into the woods, cringing at the lack of luminosity; he could've thought that he was in his own dimension. Underlings were mumbling in all corners, behind every tree, but didn't care for his presence. After all, he was quite insignificant now that Medusa had killed Pit. They barely looked at him as he passed by, seeking the Goddess of Darkness.

Dark Pit heard footsteps behind him and turned around as fast as he could, only to meet the familiar eyes of Pandora in her Amazon form. Medusa's commander looked at him and pulled him by the arm, leading him towards a cave, away from the Underlings flooding the woods. Dark Pit protested, fought back with all his strength, even tried to shoot her with his staff, but quickly understood that she was not intending to hurt him. So he followed her, trying not to look at the troops of Underlings crawling around, and eventually turned to face her once they had reached their retreat.

Pandora eyed at him and snapped her fingers: a wall of dark red energy closed the opening of the cave, thus ensuring that nobody would be able to spy on their conversation. The dark angel gritted his teeth, thinking that he had been captured, but the Goddess of Calamity raised her hands in the air to prove that she didn't want to harm him. "I only want to talk," she said in a low voice, though he could feel the urge behind her tone.

Dark Pit folded his arms, tapping his foot on the ground. He was already pissed off at the sight of her. What could she want to tell him? She was working under Medusa's orders, was she there to mock him? To laugh at his defeat? He was going to hate that conversation, he already felt it. "What the fuck do you want? We're enemies."

"Not this time," Pandora told him, then she turned around, listening closely. When she was reassured since she hadn't heard anyone, she looked back at Dark Pit and took a deep breath. "Listen to me, Pit is at Viridi's Sanctum—"

"What?!"

"—with the Mirror of Truth," the Goddess continued despite being interrupted, then her pink eyes seemed to fill with tears. She fidgeted with her hands, uneasy, and bit her lower lip. She knew how much she was risking… But she couldn't let Medusa take control of the Universe. That was the reason why she had opened that portal in the first place, she had needed Dark Pit to help Pit in his mission… Pandora shook her head to focus on the current situation, since she felt Medusa's presence growing stronger. She grabbed Dark Pit by the shoulders and dived into his furious ruby eyes. "You need to go there, now."

Dark Pit snorted and abruptly pushed her off of him. "I can't fly, dumbass. My wing is broken."

Pandora rolled eyes. "I'll warp you there. But you need to hurry."

Right after she said that, a portal opened behind Dark Pit, leading to the Sanctum. It seemed deserted, the main hall was empty and there wasn't a sound in the facility. Before the dark angel could ask her if she was serious, the Goddess pushed him inside and snapped the portal out of existence. She heard Medusa's voice calling for her, screaming at the top of her lungs, and froze: she was standing right behind her. Pandora slowly turned to her, kneeling down to express her respect towards her mistress, but that didn't satisfy Medusa in the slightest. The Goddess of Darkness squinted her white eyes at her, knowing that she had been working with Pit and his little group behind her back; she could still feel energy in the air, sufficient to open a portal.

Medusa forced Pandora to stand up and pulled her up to her face. "What did you do, Pandora?" she asked, squeezing Pandora's jaw between her hands. Her commander moaned in pain and tried to maneuver away, but the grip that her superior had on her face tightened. "Answer."

Pandora cried out at the immense pain that she felt, before she was thrown to the ground by Medusa. She struggled to get back on her feet, her head still dizzy because of the sore feeling that lingered in her mouth, and gasped when Medusa outstretched her arm in her direction. Despite understanding fairly well what was going to happen, Pandora was too afraid to stand up. Medusa's hand started glowing, tiny sparkles running along her arm, and she narrowed her eyes at her commander. Pandora gulped and jumped out of the way when the Goddess of Darkness tried to hit her with lightning, springing to her feet. She extended her arm and her sword appeared between her fingers. "I can't let you take over this dimension, Medusa!"

"I can't let you get in my way," Medusa snickered, then she struck her former commander with a powerful bolt of lightning. Pandora screamed in pain, falling on her knees, and the Goddess of Darkness walked up to her. The woman was already starting to transform, staring at her hands with a mix of fear and disbelief. Medusa knelt down to be at her level and gently stroke her hair. "Pandora, you were so promising. Why did you choose to help Palutena and her precious little Pit, hm? Why did you have to betray me? I have given you everything: you were a commander with amazing powers."

Pandora groaned, feeling her entire body turn into stone, and her eyes sweated with heavy tears. She attempted to push Medusa away from her, but soon discovered that her arms were already buried. She gritted her teeth and fought back however she could, trying to focus her powers to break through the stone, all to no avail. The Goddess of Darkness watched her slowly turn into a statue, and smirked. Pandora started panting, frightened, and challenged Medusa with a glare. "You will never win this war, Medusa! This Universe is not _yours_ to rule!"

"Aw, Pandora…" Medusa chuckled, then she noticed that the stone was gaining ground: Pandora's throat was becoming gray and solid. Soon, it would be the end for the Goddess of Calamity, but before that she had several questions for her. Thus, she snapped her fingers, which stopped the progression of the transformation, and planted her white, snake eyes in those of her former commander. "Pandora, Pandora… You were the one to open that interdimensional portal for Dark Pit, weren't you?" Medusa couldn't help but laugh when she perceived the slight glimmer of passion in her victim's eyes, and thus decided to continue: "You were hopeful that he would stop me, along with Pit. That was why you asked him to come: you wanted me to _believe_ that the Mirror of Truth had only replicated Pit, only darker. Now that was quite smart, I have to give it to you."

"I try to be sometimes…" Pandora moaned in pain, closing her eyes to focus on trying to break through the stone.

Medusa laughed and squinted her eyes at her. "Now, how did you open that portal, Pandora? I should warn you: I will only ask once."

"I will never tell you… You can kill me right away if you're… hoping for an answer." Pandora gasped for air, trying to harvest as much power as she could in order to escape her stone prison, but suddenly felt weakened.

"So be it." Medusa had grasped her hand, and even though it was covered with stone, she had managed to absorb her powers. The Goddess of Darkness sneered at the pained expression on her former commander's face and snapped her fingers again. The stone resumed its course, soon enveloping Pandora's entire body. Medusa turned away from her, satisfied, and looked at her hands. She felt so much more powerful with this energy flowing in her veins. She chuckled when Thanatos' eyes met her own and said: "What? I'm 'making sure Pandora's powers don't go to waste'. Does it remind you of someone?"

The God of Death laughed and nodded, ecstatic. "Dark Pit, Mistress Medusa!"

"Then you know who to find. Make sure that you kill him this time," the Goddess of Darkness said, then she held Thanatos' hand, transferring Pandora's powers into him. Thanatos' eyes turned red from the amount of power that gathered in his body, and he laughed hysterically before disappearing. Medusa turned to Pandora's statue, gazing at it with pride: "What a masterpiece you are, my sweet little Pandora. One more to my collection."

* * *

.oOo.

* * *

Dark Pit looked around the main hall, still surprised to find no one in the Sanctum. Pandora had said that Pit was there, right? Then where the fuck…

The dark angel sighed heavily, frustrated, and decided to retreat in the office. Maybe he'd come around at one point or another, or perhaps Pandora had just lied to him—which was a possibility that he couldn't exclude. He walked up the few stairs leading up to the office, and frowned when he noticed that he couldn't open the door. Was it locked? No, there was never a lock on this thing, which is why he had hated it so much in the past: no privacy. He tried to push it again, only to be met with the same response: the door was blocked off from the other side. It was both reassuring and worrying; it meant that someone was inside, and it could easily be Pit, but he didn't seem to hear him.

Dark Pit cursed and slammed his fists against the door, picking up the sound of a gasp on the other side of the door. Suddenly, he could decipher sniffs and sobs. What in the Underworld? Was he actually _scared_?

"Stay away!" Pit's voice erupted from inside.

Dark Pit felt his heart race in his chest and he slammed his fists against the door again, losing patience. In order to calm his nerves, he tapped his foot on the step that he was standing on. The dark angel folded his arms, waiting for Pit to come and open, since he certainly understood that a Reaper wouldn't bang at his door… right? "Open the fucking door, you dumb idiot!" Dark Pit snapped at his lighter half after a minute of standing still with no door opening. He rolled eyes and shook his head, before he hissed at the horrid loudness of wood creaking. He wondered what it was and hesitated to slam his fists against the door again, so as to scream at his stupid twin's face, when a trembling white angel opened. Oh, how he wished he could yell at him, but he couldn't find the strength to: Pit seemed so scared. Had something happened to him? Well, quite anything could've, since he had been gone for two weeks… But although his ruby eyes gleamed with worry, Dark Pit still played it off as if he was severely pissed off. "Took you some time, now didn't it?!"

"Sorry Pittoo, I—"

"Who the fuck could it have been, you senseless—" he started to scream, though he stopped himself and let out a long sigh. Dark Pit eyed at his twin, who stood in the way of the entrance, and gritted his teeth. His left wing tensed up as he said: "I feared for you. I missed you, Pit."

Pit blushed, slightly smiling after he heard those words that he had longed for, and quickly stepped back, thus making way for his darker half to come in. He shut the door behind him and pushed the desk back in front of the door, ensuring that it couldn't be opened. Then, he turned to face Dark Pit, though he still had a hard time believing his eyes: it had been two weeks of absence, of silence, of loneliness, and now his dark twin was sitting on the bed. Maybe he was asleep and dreaming? Pit blinked, as though to make sure that this was really happening. He walked up to Dark Pit and sat down next to him, still gazing at him as if he had seen a ghost. He had that slight flush on his cheeks, which made him all the more cuter in his darker version's opinion. The light angel reached out for his hand and caressed it with such softness that Dark Pit almost couldn't feel his fingers on his skin.

The dark angel looked at Pit in the eyes, his heart pounding at the sight of those two gorgeous diamonds, and pulled him by the scarf to seal their lips in a passionate kiss. He moaned at the taste, for he had missed it during those two weeks of constant concern. He forbid himself from thinking about the human, he forbid any image of him from coming back to his mind. Pit was delicious, and he wanted to enjoy this moment in his company. Pit's eyes widened when he felt the touch of their lips but he didn't show any resistance, melting into the kiss after a short moment of surprise.

Dark Pit pushed him off of him, blushing wildly, and examined the room, a little nostalgic. That was when his eyes noticed something in the corner, hidden under what looked like a cloak—yes, it was Pit's cloak that they had gotten him on the Overworld. The shape was rectangular, almost like a painting. "So that's the Mirror of Truth," he assumed, pointing to it so that Pit knew what he was talking about.

Pit nodded and looked at it. "Pandora gave it to me. She found me in the forest and brought me to the Labyrinth of Deceit, where she told me to protect it and to 'save the light'," he explained, though it was clear that he was confused about the matter. He expressed his bewilderment shortly after, once he was standing next to the Mirror of Truth: "I don't understand why she helped me, she's our enemy! Yet she saved my life. I was heavily wounded when I fell from the Lightning Chariot, so she used hot spring water to heal my injuries. If it wasn't for her, I'd be finished for sure."

"I'm sorry Pit," Dark Pit suddenly apologized, much to his lighter half's surprise. His ruby eyes looked dull, filled with tears, and he seemed to be remembering the events that took place that dreadful night. He eventually looked up to meet Pit's blue eyes and continued: "I'm sorry for yelling at you all the time. If I hadn't, you wouldn't have fallen. I lost precious seconds that could've cost you your life, even when you had been outdoing yourself to protect all of us. I was… Sometimes my anger gets the best of me, and that time it was almost fatal for you. So allow me to apologize for the danger that I put you in with my sudden outburst."

The light angel stared at him, moved by his apology, and simply nodded in acknowledgment. He had never believed that it was Dark Pit's fault if he had fallen. He would never believe that, since he had been the one deciding to face Medusa when he was well aware that he couldn't. Although he had been able to reflect most of the bolts, he should've known that he couldn't keep it up eternally. He should've listened when Dark Pit asked him to hide, but truth was: he couldn't resolve to do it. He had felt his heart pounding, his blood pumping, and he had truly felt scared at the idea of hiding, for it would allow Medusa to reach for Dark Pit. She could've aimed her lightning at him, she could've hurt him, and that was one thing that Pit definitely would stand against, no matter the circumstances. The stakes were too great, he didn't manage to convince himself to hide from fire. Instead, he had stood in its face, hoping that it would catch Medusa's whole attention and that she wouldn't try to target Aphrodite or Dark Pit. That almost killed him, but… if he had to do it again, he wouldn't hesitate one second. Pit looked at his twin with a loving gleam in his blue eyes and joined his hands together.

"You know, you really shouldn't apologize," Pit started, which caused Dark Pit to glance at him and frown. "What I did, I chose to do it. Nobody forced me to. I did it because I feared for you, your well-being has always been more important than my own. I did it because I love you."

The darker version of Pit's eyes widened and he couldn't hold back a smile. That was unexpected, but when he thought about it, he should've seen it coming a long way. Pit had always been such a romantic soul, which was why he took the necklace subject so seriously at the start. Over time, with the revelations, everyone had started to take it more seriously, since it was the key to their destiny, but at first it was Pit's determination that led the way. He had been the one to leave Skyworld behind to find the meaning of the necklace; perhaps he had felt how important it was. Dark Pit had a gut feeling when it came to important matters: he instinctively knew what he needed to do first. But he had never had this gut feeling before; he had taken it after Pit. Spending their time together had helped him to evolve, his personality itself had changed and his mind didn't think the same way as it did in the past. It could mean both good and bad things, but—

"Pittoo?" Pit called him out, slightly concerned, while he held the frame of the Mirror of Truth. Dark Pit blinked, leaving his thoughts aside for a moment, and looked up at his lighter half, who then shyly pointed towards his arm. Dark Pit furrowed his brows, perplexed, and eyed down, only to realize that the necklace around his wrist was violently glowing purple. Pit tilted his head to one side, curious. "Why's it doing that?"

"Maybe because it's reunited with the Mirror of Truth, but we can't let them be in contact," Dark Pit said, enveloping the stone with his fingers. The vivid glow was still visible through the gaps between his fingers.

Pit put down the Mirror of Truth and hid it back under the cloak, and his darker half immediately noticed the difference: the stone's glow had significantly lowered. Even though it was still bright as the sun, at least he could take a peek at it without being blinded on the spot. Dark Pit sighed in relief, but suddenly felt a dark presence closing in. Intrigued, he stood up and slowly, carefully pushed the desk out of the way. Pit asked him what was wrong but he kept silent: he knew that energy, it was Pandora. But… there seemed to be someone else with her. The angel of light also appeared to pick up the wavering energy in the air, since he had raised his head and looked over to the door.

The two angels eyed at one another and nodded in agreement, running out to rush to the armory. Dark Pit picked up his staff and what he called the Viridi Bow, attaching it to his back with his shoulder strap in case of emergency. Pit chose to stick with Dark Pit's Rose Blade and his Palutena Bow. The dark angel cursed, remembering that his Silver Bow had been stolen and that he still hadn't found it, but shook himself out of it in order to run to the main hall.

Pit wasted no time and pulled him back in by the wrist, seemingly serious. "Pittoo, the necklace," was all he said, and his darker version immediately understood what he had meant to say.

"Pit, we don't have time for this," Dark Pit replied, then he turned around and eyed at his lighter half. He had a smirk across the lips, and his eyes were glimmering mischievously. He briefly looked down at his twin and trailed his fingers along Pit's scarf, which he kept loose around his neck, before he said: "Though I recall that you like jewelry. Right?"

The light angel nodded and smiled widely: he knew exactly what was left for them to do. A short moment after, the two angels ran to the main hall in a hurry: they were there, they could feel them in the area. As they expected, they were both greeted by none other than Thanatos. Though something seemed unnatural about him: his energy had gotten substantially stronger. It seemed to be stirred with that of Pandora, but that was impossible, wasn't it? Unless Pandora had been killed and he inherited her powers… In which case, it was very bad news for the two angels.

The God of Death glanced at them, bouncing up and down on a spring, and stood on his feet with that same grim smile on his lips. It spread across his entire face, from his left ear to the right. Pit glanced over to Dark Pit, who was in position to fight already, aiming his staff at Medusa's commander. "Oh, does my eye spy on a _jewel_ around your wrist, Dark Pit~?" Thanatos scoffed.

"Still better than having it around my neck," Dark Pit shrugged, looking bored.

Pit frowned and asked: "What's wrong with wearing a necklace around your actual neck?!"

" _It's girly_!" Thanatos and Dark Pit replied at the same exact time, until Thanatos laughed and tried to get closer to the dark angel. He was a few steps away when he received a fully charged arrow of light in the belly and stepped back, alarmed and a little hurt as well. The God of Death eyed at Pit, who still held out his bow since he had just fired it, and pouted. That wasn't very nice! Thanatos' eyes twinkled and he laughed at the serious, focused faces of his opponents. "Look at you two! You're quite the couple~!" he mocked them, before he was shot by another arrow of light, quickly followed by a purple blast in his toes. Thanatos bounced up and down because of the pain in his foot, and glared at the two angels. "Not my toes! Anyhow! In this case, I guess I will have to force you to give this beautiful necklace to me~!"

Pit furrowed his brows, determined, and separated his bow into two identical golden and blue blades in an instant. He grasped their hilt with intense vigor gleaming in his sapphire eyes. Dark Pit turned around and smiled at him, hands on his hips. "Pre-boss-battle rallying cry anyone?" he suggested, however the light angel just rolled eyes. _Well, not today it seems._ Amused by his twin's reaction, the darker version of Pit faced their enemy and held out his staff, charging a full shot. "You're longing for death, Thanatos?"

"Oh no~! This time, I came with a good friend of yours!" Thanatos snickered before he opened his right hand.

A red orb formed into it, soon landing on the ground next to him. It slowly took a very familiar shape that made the two angels gasp in horror: "Pandora!" Like a shadow of herself, she never switched to her normal color palette: instead, she remained covered in what appeared to be red slime, which made it difficult to spot her eyes, and quite everything on her face aside from her nose. "That's sooooo awesome!" Pit exclaimed and his blue eyes glimmered at the sight of her, which took everyone by surprise. However, the light angel kept gazing at the fake Pandora in awe. "She's like Shadow Mario from Super Mario Sunshine! Anyone played the GameCube?" he beamed, amazed, and Dark Pit groaned in annoyance.

"Are you fucking serious right now? Are you fucking serious, or are you kidding me?" Dark Pit retorted, looking daggers at the angel of light. Was it the time to be a nerd? Did all he ever think about was games? Even in times like this, on the verge of a fight that would be complicated for them? On the verge of a fight during which they could easily lose their lives?

Pit cleared his throat when he realized that he had bothered everyone with his commentary and tightened his grip on his weapons. "Uhm, yeah… Anywaaays… Let's get down to business!"

Dark Pit smirked and instantly launched himself towards Thanatos, whereas Pit was taking care of the fake Pandora. The God of Death evaded his attack and a spring appeared out of nowhere under the dark angel's feet, sending him in the air before he crashed to the floor. He winced at the pain but was quick on his feet, aiming his staff at his enemy. Thanatos disappeared from his sight, only to teleport behind him and turn into a big snake. That reminded Dark Pit of his last fight with him and Viridi, and thus filled him with rage and fearlessness. The snake slithered around the angel's legs, attempting to trip him, but Dark Pit shot a fully charged blast at its head. Thanatos yelped in pain and fell to the ground, giving just enough time to the angel to free himself before the snake rose again. He winded his long body around Dark Pit's arms, which he had kept at reach, and tried to bite him in the hand so that he let go of his weapon. Dark Pit fought back, did everything in his power in order to prevent the bite, and eventually a light blue arrow hit the snake in the head, sending it to the ground again.

The dark angel took advantage of Thanatos' faintness and slashed the snake's body with a blade that extended from the tip of his staff. It could come in handy at times like this. Thanatos swiftly dodged every one of his slashes, since his body was so flexible, and crawled onto the leg of the angel, his mouth wide open and showing his poisoned fangs. Dark Pit shook his leg in the air, slamming his staff in the head of the snake climbing up to his arm, and successfully repelled him. Thanatos sighed, annoyed, and his eyes glowed in red for a split second. Suddenly, the ground started shaking beneath their feet and the snake grew in size, that until he was big enough to reach the top of the Sanctum.

Dark Pit stared at him, unimpressed, and stabbed the snake's tail with his staff. Thanatos cried out in pain and immediately looked down, diving head first towards Dark Pit and ready to swallow him whole. The dark angel's left wing fluttered when he sensed danger above him and he jumped to the side, right before he could be engulfed by the giant snake. Although he had evaded it, it had been way too close for comfort.

Pandora extended her hands and red vines sprung from the ground beneath Dark Pit's feet. That ensured that he couldn't escape anymore, since they had winded around his arms and legs. Some vines even coiled around his chest and prevented any movement. Pit noticed that Thanatos was about to attack again and reunited his blades to form his trusty Palutena Bow. He fired a fully charged arrow at the monstrous snake, however it was deflected by one of Pandora's magical shields. The light angel groaned between his gritted teeth, pissed off, and made a run towards the snake, preparing another arrow of light.

Dark Pit wiggled in his restrains, growing more and more desperate as he watched the snake loom over him, and cried out in sheer terror when its mouth dived right for him. He closed his eyes, holding his breath, but felt the vines around his body weaken. He dared to dart a look at what was happening and noticed that he was surrounded by a halo of bright, heavenly light.

Pit was looking over to him with a gaping mouth, and his eyes gleamed with thousands of stars. "Lady Palutena!" he screamed, slightly shaking his head in disbelief.

Dark Pit frowned. Wasn't she supposed to be a statue in Skyworld? Or maybe Zeus had found a solution, since he had told them he'd be looking for one? He had been quite fast… Well, it had been two weeks, but… Anyways, Dark Pit looked in front of him, where he saw long, green hair and a glowing golden scepter. The Goddess of Light stood in the way of Thanatos, aiming her staff at him. "Hello, my dear little Pit. Did you miss me?"

"You know it!" Pit exclaimed, clasping his hands together to manifest his outburst of joy.

The snake facing the Goddess of Light went back to his original form, and the God of Death glanced at her, astonished. Medusa had told him that she had been taken care of by Hades! Thanatos didn't think that there was a way for those two worthless angels to be saved! With Pandora out of commission… Well, whatever! He would take care of Palutena, it represented no problem for him. The God of Death smirked and his eyes wandered off until they landed on Palutena's precious little angel. He knew exactly how he was going to bring her down: threatening to kill her beloved Pit! She would do anything to save him, he was well aware of that; why wouldn't he take advantage of her deepest, biggest weakness?

Palutena smiled at the discomfited faces of her enemies and slammed her staff against the wooden ground. "Well, let me take care of the problem, boys. Stay back."

The Goddess of Light was about to disintegrate Thanatos with a dazzling ray of light when, suddenly, she looked towards the office and realized that Medusa was there. She had the Mirror of Truth under the arm and smirked, her thin tongue snaking past her lips. Dark Pit instantly noticed the worry on Palutena's face and turned around, growling. "Medusa!" He ran towards her, overflown with his rage towards her. She had almost killed Pit, and she would die for that, right then and there. Aiming his fully charged staff at her heart, Dark Pit drew closer to her but the Goddess of Darkness snickered and nearly hit him with a bolt of lightning. He jumped over it, wrath boiling within his soul, and soon caught up to her, his staff directed right at her heart made of pure darkness. He was about to shoot but Medusa intercepted his weapon, snatching it from his hands, and threw it to the ground to make sure that he couldn't get back to it. Giving him no time to react, she punched the dark angel in the gut, sending him rolling down the stairs. Dark Pit cried out in agony when he landed on his back, on his broken wing.

"Pittoo!" Palutena rushed to his side, alarmed by the bloodcurdling scream, and left her precious jewel, Pit, to deal with Pandora and Thanatos on his own.

Of course, he wasn't able to fight off for very long, being the miserable, insignificant little thing that he was, and Thanatos got a hold of him. The God of Death punched him in the cheek, which dazed the light angel enough so that he let go of his bow, and pulled him by the scarf. He secured him against his body and threatened to slit his throat with a blade that he created with his newly gained powers. Pit grabbed onto his arm, pushing it off of him with all his strength, but that did little to nothing at all; he had been exhausted by the battle and couldn't find it in himself to fight back any longer. "Oh, you poor thing~! You're stuck~!"

"Let go of me, Thanatos!" Pit demanded, wiggling in his hold, before he received a powerful punch in the back of the head. He suddenly felt dizzy, and his vision became blurry and unsteady. His hands fell from Thanatos' arm, which brought joy to the face of his enemy.

Palutena glanced over to Pit, tears burning her green eyes at his sight, and aimed her staff at Thanatos. "Let him go and I won't have to kill you."

"Aw, dear sister, did we touch a nerve? Your precious little Pit… Seeing him so _helpless_ must break your heart!" Medusa laughed behind her back, creeping up to her and snatching her staff from her hands. Palutena spun around and was greeted with a kick to the stomach. That seemed to be enough to incapacitate her, at least for a moment. Medusa could take advantage of her weakness to act, since she hadn't come to Viridi's old Sanctum for no reason; she wanted two things, and she would get them, no matter who dared to stand in her way. The Goddess of Darkness walked towards Thanatos, who held Pit captive, with the Mirror of Truth that she had stolen from them.

Dark Pit winced and panted because of the horrendous amount of pain that he felt in his back, but got back on his feet, clenching his fists. He had to keep an eye closed because of the sore feeling in his body; it was way too much to handle, his legs were too wiggly to keep him from falling. Though he forced himself to face the three Gods before him, since Pit's life was on the line and he couldn't afford to lose him another time—not after he had just reunited with him. Thanatos laughed at his pitiful state and glanced over to Pit. "Well well~! I guess we could trade: your necklace or this angel!"

"I don't… trade with assholes…" Dark Pit groaned in the midst of his deep moans of pain. He eyed at Pit and teared up. "Let him… go…"

Thanatos snickered and tightened his grip on the light angel. Pit's throat was pressed against the blade, which was just about to slice into it. "If you gave us your precious necklace, I'll let him go unharmed!" Thanatos proposed, before he looked at Pit, who was shaking his head negatively. "Oh, aren't you a party pooper~?"

"Pittoo-ngh! Don't!" Pit tried to say, though he had to cough because of the lack of air in his body.

Dark Pit glanced at him, then at the necklace fastened around his wrist. What was he supposed to do? The stone was the key to the Mirror of Truth… But he couldn't let Pit die, he wouldn't: he had lost him too many times. When he thought about it, if the stone was away from both of them, it would stop shining, right? So they wouldn't be able to use it either way. It probably needed at least one of the two angels in order to trigger it and, thus, allow them to open a portal. Though, why did they want to open an interdimensional portal? What was the point? What—"Hellooo~?" Thanatos scoffed, steering him away from the numerous questions that crippled his mind.

Dark Pit looked up and took his decision: he had nothing to lose. If he gave them the necklace, he had to make sure that they wouldn't leave with Pit, for that would compromise their entire mission. Determined, the dark angel rose back to his feet after another fall and glanced at Thanatos and Medusa. "I'll give it to you, let Pit go first."

Medusa laughed, deeply amused. What did he think, that they were stupid? "Nice try—"

"Look, you're in no position to ask for more," Dark Pit immediately countered, a lot more serious than he was previously. He looked at Pit, who was still shaking his head and begging him not to give the necklace, and shut his eyes. That was the only way. He couldn't let Pit die, he wouldn't: he had feared for his life for way too long. He couldn't bare the weight of his loss on his conscience, never. Dark Pit opened his eyes again, to meet those white of Medusa, and said: "That's my condition. Let him come to me, and I'll give it to you. You have my word."

"No, Pittoo! Don't do this!" Pit implored his darker twin, but he coughed again because Thanatos had squeezed his throat even more. His eyes filled with heavy tears, lack of oxygen starting to make him feel absent and awfully light, however he still shook his head in denial. "Pittoo, don't… do it… please… It's… too important…"

"Shut up and breathe, Pit," Dark Pit snarled, trying to keep his cool. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm trying to keep you alive here."

The Goddess of Darkness eyed at her commanders, thinking about Dark Pit's proposition. Could it be that he was duping her? He seemed too focused and desperate to be playing a trick on her. She knew how much he loved Pit, he wouldn't play around with his life. Dark Pit surely knew that, if she happened to find out that he had fooled her, she would kill Pit on the spot. So, Medusa was convinced that he would never take that risk: he wasn't insane. Thus, she demanded that Thanatos let go of Pit. The light angel ran towards Dark Pit, hugging him tight and telling him that he shouldn't have, that the necklace was more important than his own life, but the dark angel didn't listen. He gently detached the necklace, under Medusa's careful eyes, and threw it at her feet.

The Goddess of Darkness smiled widely and grasped it, opening a portal to head back to the Underworld, with the Mirror of the Truth and the key to open it. Now things could begin; they had all that they required to wreak havoc in this last dimension. That was the last straw: not even these two angels would be able to fight off the army that awaited her on the other side of that Mirror. Before Medusa followed her two commanders into the portal, she turned towards Dark Pit and grinned. "Thank you for your servitude, Dark Pit. I knew you would make the right decision." After she had said those words, she stepped in the portal and snapped it out of existence.

Palutena looked at Dark Pit in pure anger and was about to yell at him when she noticed the playful look in his eyes. Did he not understand what had just happened? He had given Medusa the key to the other dimensions! The Goddess of Light growled, outraged, and stood on her two feet. She still felt the pain from the kick she had received, but decided not to care about it at the moment. Dark Pit had been so irresponsible! How could he not understand the stakes behind his actions? The Goddess of Light focused her attention on the darker version of Pit, who held her little champion very close to him and gently kissed him. The light angel moved back after a moment, breathing heavily and his cheeks completely flushed, and trailed his fingers along his neck to make sure that he wasn't bleeding. He appeared to be reassured when he saw that his hand bore no blood.

Dark Pit, on the other hand, just stood up and was about to head for Viridi's infirmary when he felt Palutena's eyes fixated on him. "And where do you think you're going, Dark Pit?!"

The angel snorted, put his hands on his hips, and turned to face the Goddess of Light. He had a sharp expression in his ruby orbs when he looked back at her with a raised eyebrow. "What? To the infirmary, to fix my injuries. Pit should come along."

"Can we talk about what you just did?!" Palutena screamed.

Dark Pit raised an eyebrow and clicked his tongue, his wings stretching up to illustrate his frustration and, also, his growing anger. "What about it, hm? Was I supposed to let him _die_ for a stupid necklace?!"

"We don't know what Medusa will do with what you call the 'stupid necklace' and the Mirror of Truth, it was foolish to give it to her!" Palutena exploded, her eyes looking daggers at the dark angel. She was about to strangle him; how could he smile at a time like this?! Everything was lost, they were supposed to protect that necklace with their very lives! Palutena growled, absolutely furious, and shook her head. "Don't you realize what you've just done?! What if she brings in all of her other incarnations from the other dimensions, hm?! Who is going to put up a fight against them?! She could do anything and everything, there are no limitations!"

"But she won't do anything, Lady Palutena!" Pit assured, spinning around to face his Goddess with a little smile across the lips. "They can't do anything with it, I promise you!"

"Pit, you have no idea—"

Palutena was interrupted when light angel groaned under his breath and rolled eyes. She glared at him for being rebellious, but then he took off his scarf, revealing a very familiar necklace with a glowing stone attached to it. The smirk that was plastered on Dark Pit's lips was enough to tell her that they had been the most clever angels a Goddess of Light could ask for.

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 _To be continued…_

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 **Updated: 02/11/2019**


	23. Chapter 22: Angelic lighthouse

_**Hello again my people! How are you all doing? I bring you the next chapter of this fiction (and I'm realizing slowly that I'm not writing quick enough x) I will soon run out of fuel!). Tell me what you think about it!**_

 _ **A HUGE thank you to Boiboimanman for both following and favoriting this story! It sure means the world to me :)**_

 _ **Anyways, I won't bother you guys any longer with my blabbering. Kisses to all!**_

 _ **Yours truly, Circle of J.**_

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 **/!\ Warning: Sexual themes /!\**

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 **Disclaimer: ****I do not own the characters. The deities mentioned are taken from Greek Mythology, remastered the way I imagine them. What I own, on the other hand, is the plot.**

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 **Kid Icarus: Heirs of the Light**

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 _Chapter 22: Angelic lighthouse_

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Palutena told them to pack their weapons and belongings, since she urged them to come back to Skyworld. They had spent a week around the Sanctum, but it was no longer safe for them: they had to face constant attacks from the Underworld army, and they grew more and more scarce regarding medicinal plants… The Goddess of Light had assured that she could use one of her barriers to protect the Sanctum, but in the end, she found out that Viridi's powers were still too present to allow her to do so. Because of that, they needed to find shelter in Skyworld's palace.

Regarding how she managed to make it to the two angels, Palutena explained what had happened, how she was back to her senses despite the fact that she had, apparently, been possessed by Hades—she even dared to accuse Pit for it. She said that Zeus had found a new body for the Lord of the Underworld and that he had imprisoned him in the Pantheon, which brought bad memories to Dark Pit: it was exactly what his incarnation of Zeus had done before succumbing to his darkness and freeing him. For the first time, he had hope that the God of the Gods wouldn't be so stupid this time around, and that he would make sure to stay away from Hades. Needless to say, the dark angel hadn't said anything about the news, since most of it was brand new to him.

Pit, on the other hand, had seemed more concerned and asked if the 'cage' that Hades was in was safe. Palutena reassured him by telling him that the cage was made of pure light, and thus that she was the only one who could open it, along with Zeus of course. While that worked for Pit, Dark Pit had only felt more worried about it. He had pretended that he needed to look for something in the Sanctum, when really he had wanted to be alone. And there he was, on his own, sitting on one of the highest branches of the Sanctum. He couldn't help but feel concerned, for he was almost certain that Zeus wouldn't resist long enough for them to kill Medusa beforehand. The trio really didn't need another enemy after them.

Under the rays of the warm morning sun, Dark Pit looked out to the skies before him, his stomach heaving. He gulped down his worries, trying not to think about his dimension and the turn of events that happened there, and instead thought about Pit and their recent relationship. There hadn't been a lot of improvement, but it was slowly coming together: Dark Pit would soon overcome his fear of physical contact, and that would be when things would really change. For the time being, they interacted just like they did before, except for a few touches and kisses here and there. When he gave it a thought, he had never said that he loved Pit aloud; he had been thinking it hundreds of times, but never once did he express it.

Pit, on the other hand, had been more expressive and told him that he loved him whenever he thought the situation was right for it. Though, since Palutena was back, he had been quite distant—well, not distant, but a little colder than before. Was he shy? No, probably not. He was always with his Goddess, talking to her, walking with her, training with her when he used to spend hours sparring with Dark Pit instead. But the dark angel didn't blame him: he knew how much his lighter half had missed the Goddess of Light's presence by his side, and he surely wanted to make up for the time they had lost. Dark Pit sighed at the thought, since it still hurt him to be pushed to the side because Palutena was back. It was painful, unfair, and he had no idea how long he could cope with this attitude. He didn't have to accept it, after all: he was nice enough to do it, since Pit was so essential to him, but nothing forced him to wait endlessly. He could easily say that he had enough of being ignored, and that'd be the end of his problems. But no, he couldn't, he couldn't find it in his heart to do it. He loved Pit, no matter if he paid attention to him or not. Although, he would still enjoy a little company.

Dark Pit's wings fluttered and he cringed at the throbbing pain in his right wing bone. He still hadn't taken care of it, even though he had thought about it several times during the last few days. He had wanted to use one of those magical leaves, but figured that he should be saving them for more important wounds in the near future. The real fight was about to unleash, after all, now that Pit and him had tricked Medusa with the fake necklace. He couldn't help but smirk at the thought, imagining her face when she would try it out and realize that she had been duped. He wished he had been there to witness it, it must have been hilarious to watch.

"Pittoo!" His wings fluttered again, which caused him to moan in discomfort, and soon a white angel sat next to him. Surprised, Dark Pit glanced at him with wide eyes. Pit smiled and crawled closer to him, so that he was close enough to rest his head on his shoulder. "Pittoo, hi. You've been up here for an hour," Pit murmured, as though he was afraid that speaking too loud would scare off his darker counterpart. He gave a kiss to Dark Pit's shoulder and closed his eyes. "I've been worried, I thought something had happened to you."

"Perhaps you should worry less about me and more about yourself," Dark Pit replied when he spied an open wound on Pit's cheek. It wasn't a deep cut but it still spitted some blood, and the dark angel really hated that. He brought his hand to Pit's face and used his thumb to wipe off the droplets of blood that rolled down his hurt cheek. "What happened to you?"

Pit chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his head. He looked rather embarrassed when he said: "I was packing up my weapons and I fell—that cut comes from my bow."

"I see."

Dark Pit looked into those blue eyes and slowly turned away, gazing back in the horizon. He felt scared, if he was honest with himself. Frightened even, at the thought of fighting Medusa one more time. He had already tried in his own dimension and had failed miserably… Fortunately, he was still under Hermes' orders at the time, so he had him all fixed up, but that didn't change the fact that he was terrified. Of course, he was eager at the same time, since she had tried to subdue him countless times and even nearly killed his Pit: seeing her dead would definitely ease his mind. The main question was to know whether or not they'd be powerful and dedicated enough to kill her and, thus, put an end to her expanding reign over the Universe. Was there enough of them, two flightless angels, to stop her? Well, it was true that the Goddess of Light herself was helping them out, however would that really change anything to their fate?

Pit pulled him by the arm and climbed down the tree, inviting him to follow him. "Lady Palutena wants to see you."

"So that's why you came here? Because she asked you to come and get me?" Dark Pit asked bitterly, his heart aching suddenly since he realized that Pit had had no intention to come and talk to him on his own account.

Pit quickly shook his head and pulled his darker version close to him, so that he could hug him tight. There was a tint of sadness in his ocean eyes, and that was enough for the dark angel to understand that he had been misled. It really appeared that Pit had wanted to come to him, even though he had also been charged by Palutena. The lighter angel smiled when he felt Dark Pit's pounding heart against his own heart and slightly blushed, for he had missed their embraces. They used to hug and touch a lot more before Palutena came back and saved them. Pit wondered if he hadn't been too focused on her to realize that his darker twin felt abandoned. He bit his lower lip and lifted Dark Pit's head to make him look at him. "Pittoo, I missed you. Really, I came because I wanted to. I want to see you, I want to be with you."

"Wow," the dark angel snorted, wearing his casual bored expression in his red orbs. "Are you gonna be all romantic again? I didn't bring a plastic bag to puke in."

"Pittoo!" Pit reacted, his wings stretching up to manifest his anger. Dark Pit smiled to himself: angel wings were so expressive. Although they were commonly thought to serve one and only purpose—namely, make them fly—they also were conveying emotions. What words didn't say, their feathers showed it. It was a wonder of Nature, when he thought about it. Pit caught his attention when he laid a gentle peck on his forehead. "I like to be romantic with you, because that's how I truly feel inside. At least _I_ 'm able to show my feelings!"

Dark Pit frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?!" he snapped at Pit.

The light angel lightly shrugged his shoulders and looked off into the horizon, saddened. "You never say that you love me."

Dark Pit gulped, feeling all the more guilty after he had said that. It was completely true, but the dark angel couldn't help himself: he couldn't say those words, for they scared him just as much as the thought of being touched. He loved Pit more than anything, but… saying it would damage his pride. He was supposed to be the angel who needed nobody, who could wander on his own with no care in the world.

The reality was that he craved Pit, he craved his attention, he yearned for him. And the reality of things was painful to him: he had never been this _dependent_ in the past. Never would he have thought that he could fall in love so easily, so effortlessly, to the point where he would deny his own freedom to stay close to the other. It hurt him deeply to think about it: it was an idea that came in complete, utter contradiction with all he had ever stood for in his lifetime. He had fought Gods and entire armies to be free of doing whatever he wanted, to be free from anyone's hold, and yet he had fallen for an angel and revolved around him in an Orbitar fashion. He couldn't be away from Pit, for that would put an end to his entire world. And that, above everything, was a dangerous game: what would happen once he'd be back in his own dimension? He knew that there would be no return.

Pit would be left behind until the end of his eternity, he would belong to his past. But could he be left in his past?

Dark Pit looked away; he had to be, the dark angel knew the risks if he left his dimension for good: it would unbalance the Universe as a whole, not just his life. Every living thing in the Universe would be affected negatively. He couldn't do that… Even though the rest of the Universe had fallen to the grasp of darkness, he still couldn't resolve to destroying—the right word would be _obliterating_ the balance across all dimensions.

Pit cleared his throat, looking even sadder than he previously was, and turned away from Dark Pit. "I get it."

The dark angel bit his lower lip: he had been lost in his thoughts for too long and Pit had taken it as though he refused to say that he loved him. Which might or might not have been the truth, that being said. Nonetheless, he cupped Pit's face and made him look at him. "Pit, it's not against you, you know that."

"Oh, I know. It never is with you."

"Pit, listen to me and stop bitching with me!" Dark Pit warned him, a silent anger blazing in his ruby eyes. He shut them for a second, collecting his thoughts, and glanced back at the light angel. He had heavy tears in the corner of his eyes, which brought panic in the darker version's heart. "Please, tell me that you don't think less of me."

Pit gulped and looked off, disappointed, then climbed down the tree. The only thing that he said was: "Lady Palutena must be waiting, come down." With that, he turned around and quickly looked over his shoulder, adding: "Tsun-Pittoo!" before leaving him there, sitting on his branch, all alone. Dark Pit's eyes widened, rage boiling in his guts, and he screamed the other's name. Infuriated, the dark angel dropped all the way down to the main hall, hoping that he'd fall on Pit but he missed him. The other angel laughed and ran to the armory. Dark Pit snarled; he had nearly sprained his ankle in trying to catch that idiot, but he had to say that it was the least of his worries at the moment. He needed to take revenge on his lighter twin.

The dark angel briefly saw Palutena standing there but didn't mind her, focused on trying to catch up to his lighter half. Pit went to the armory, wanting to train with his bow again, and slammed the door at Dark Pit's face without even realizing that he was there.

The dark angel kept his composure and opened it, trying to be stealthy. He crept up to Pit as he looked around the shelves and cleared his throat once he was just behind him, next to his ear. The light angel jumped and nearly banged his head against the shelves, before he spun around and faced his darker counterpart. He gave him a challenging look and held onto his Palutena Bow, which he put on the table in his back. Dark Pit brought his hands to his shoulders so that he wouldn't run away and took a deep breath. "Don't ever—" he started, though he was abruptly interrupted when he was forced into a kiss by Pit. He widened his eyes but grabbed onto his chiton, pulling him closer and moaning into their kiss. He only moved back once he was out of breath, which seemed to satisfy his lighter half. "Pit," Dark Pit started again, panting, and he looked right into the eyes of the angel of light. "Pit, never call me that again, you fucking asshole. I know that I keep on disappointing you, but that's not a reason to—"

"Shh," Pit hushed him, putting a finger on his lips. His eyes were shining with all the tears that threatened to fall. Despite the intense pain in his blue orbs, there was a slight smile on his lips, and that confused the dark angel beyond words. Pit briefly looked away, seeking words to express himself, and eventually eyed at Dark Pit again. "I call you whatever I want to, that's a first thing. Then… No, you don't disappoint me. I just like to be reassured sometimes, so I wouldn't mind being told that you love me, but I understand that it must be difficult to say these words for someone like you."

"It is—Wait… 'Someone like me'?"

Pit smiled mischievously, nodding, and didn't give his darker half the time to snap at him before continuing: "Anyways, maybe we'll talk later, I need to be alone for a while."

Dark Pit opened his mouth to protest, his wings perking up with anger—though he cringed at the pain in his right wing—but, when Pit eyed at him in all seriousness, he decided to leave without insisting. He knew how much he had hurt Pit, and if he needed time to think this through. Although he shouldn't forget: he was far from being done with him. He would pay for calling him… 'Tsun-Pittoo', or however he had dared to nickname him. Dark Pit gritted his teeth at the thought: he really hated him sometimes… Instead of raging in his own corner, the dark angel decided that he had better to do and walked over to Palutena, who was checking on the numerous weapons that the angel of light had packed. The Goddess of Light seemed relatively happy with his choices, although she had set aside a handful of blades and staffs that she didn't think would be useful to them.

Dark Pit stood next to her, hands on his hips, and raised an eyebrow at the sight of the pile of weapons. "What in the Underworld is he planning to do with _all_ of these? Is there a zombie apocalypse that I don't know about?"

Palutena laughed and turned towards him, a bright smile on her lips. Joy was gleaming in her wide green eyes. "Maybe, who knows at this point." Dark Pit folded his arms, frustrated, and groaned under his breath about how 'stupid' Pit could be at times. The Goddess of Light chuckled but didn't say anything, since she was getting accustomed to his temper and his constant bad mood.

Instead of focusing on it, she held out her hand and a familiar shape formed in it, made out of pure, golden light. _The Silver Bow_ , Dark Pit gasped when he recognized it. The dark angel hesitated to snatch it from her hands, but decided to wait for her to gently nod before doing it. She smiled when she noticed the glimmer of his red eyes and decided to explain how she had retrieved it—if she even had, maybe she had just created a brand new one. "Here, I was thinking about giving it to you, that's why I called you down. I figured that you would miss your favorite weapon, so I asked my dear Centurions to look for it."

Dark Pit raised an eyebrow, surprised to hear about those useless things. "So, they're also out of their statues? That was quick."

"I know how to deal with Medusa's powers, I just needed to be awake to take action. Anyways, about your bow, I must warn you: it doesn't exactly work the way you remember it to," Palutena continued, looking a lot more serious than she usually did. It unsettled him a little, to be fair. "I added a few functions that may come in handy during hopeless battles, since we're in for a treat."

The dark angel shuddered and rolled eyes, shaking his head. "Yeah, you can thank Medusa for that."

Palutena nodded and bit her lower lip, but she had no will to dwell on the subject of her sisters—none of them were on the right side of things, with the exception of Aphrodite… Sometimes, she couldn't help but wonder what had gone wrong with them all. The Goddess of Light shook her head slightly, under Dark Pit's confused glance, and continued with her explanation: "Yes, uhm, where was I? Oh! Right… Your bow… So, your bow is pretty much as powerful as that of Pit, except that its range is more limited."

"That sucks."

"However, it deals more damage. Fair trade?"

The dark angel shrugged his shoulders in response. "I still can't believe that you'd do that for me," Dark Pit admitted, in all sincerity, and he squinted his eyes at her. "Sorry to disappoint, but you certainly won't gain my servitude with stupid gifts like this one."

"I'm not trying to, trust me!" Palutena defended herself, laughing a little. "I like my servant-to-no-other-than-himself Pittoo, you see. I am quite accustomed to him." In spite of her attempt to reassure him, Dark Pit wasn't yet convinced and couldn't take his eyes off of her. The Goddess of Light turned around to face the pile of weapons again and shook her head in disbelief: where was she going to store all of these? Their armory was already filled with weapons—including the First Blade which was strangely out of place.

Palutena heard Dark Pit walking away and smiled to herself. She wasn't blind, she knew that he was in a bad mood because he had argued with Pit. Their first argument probably, by the look of defeat in the dark angel's eyes. When she had seen Dark Pit drop from the tree, she had known that something was off; although they liked to spar and squabble from time to time, that time had felt different: Dark Pit's eyes were blazing in rage, and that was unusual when it was directed at Pit.

Somehow, the Goddess of Light had expected that their first quarrel would happen soon, since the two angels were so complex and, despite what they could think, incredibly similar. That being said, Palutena was not concerned in the slightest; she had no doubt that they would work things out on their own. It was their problem after all, she couldn't give them a hand every time something happened. Both of them were old enough to take matters in their own hands, even though they were only early teenagers. If they wanted to do adult things—wink wink—then they also had to accept the cons of their new condition. Not everything would be pretty and shiny all the time, but she was convinced that they already knew that.

With those thoughts in mind, the Goddess of Light turned and smiled at Pit when he made his way in the room. "Here, come and give me a hand, will you Pit?"

The angel's wings jerked up and he beamed at her: "Of course, Lady Palutena!"

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.oOo.

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Once the sky was darkening and the stars were shining bright, Dark Pit walked towards the armory and listened at the door. When he heard no sound, no agitation, he decided to go in and train with his new bow. He noticed that the design was identical, so he wondered in what way it could be so different from before and couldn't wait to discover its new functions. He hadn't seen Pit in the entire day, but that suited him fine: after the conversation that they had in the morning, he was happy to have a bit of time alone. Although he had loathed it during the past few days, this time around it was very welcome.

Dark Pit silently entered the room, hoping that the door wouldn't creak, and turned the light on. Several targets had been blown to smithereens and lied on the ground, though there wasn't anyone in the training room any longer. The dark angel looked around in order to find another target and hung it on the wall, aiming his precious bow at its center. He narrowed his eyes, trying to be as precise as possible, and remembered the soft feeling of Pit's hand on top of his own. He slightly moved his arm to the right and shot a fully charged arrow. It hit the middle of the target, tearing it to shreds. He braced himself, but felt awfully relieved when it made no sound. He grasped the bow, looking at it, and outstretched his arm, trying to spin it between his fingers. He tried to manipulate the bow so that he wouldn't drop it, but realized that it was way harder than he'd thought very soon: it fell to the ground in a loud _clang!_ that he was sure would wake up Pit and Palutena. He swiftly picked it up and attempted to do it again, gaining speed, but it fell once more. How could it be that Pit did it so easily?

Dark Pit gritted his teeth, scooped it back up, and gave it another try. It gained speed and, suddenly, its blades started to burn: a garish purple light emanated from them. That took him by surprise, thus he threw the weapon on the ground.

Dark Pit shook his head to snap out of it and quickly brandished his weapon. "I'm nearly there," he told himself, to find the motivation to try again. And that he did, he stood straight and extended his arm, starting to spin the bow again. The same light, which hurt his eyes, wrapped around the blades before it gathered at the center of his bow and created a shield. Dark Pit tried to hold it for as long as he could, but it felt as though the dazzling light was devouring his energy. Out of breath, his vision shifting to black, he let go of his bow to recover.

That was when he realized that someone was standing next to him: Poseidon. The God of the Seas glanced at him with something akin to admiration before he clapped. "Bravo! Very impressive, I must say!"

The dark angel growled and made sure to stay away from him. "What do you want?"

"Your servitude, what else?" Poseidon laughed out loud, though he really was the only one to. He cleared his throat and stood straight again, taking a serious expression, however that only made him look more ridiculous in the red eyes of the angel. The God of the Seas had brought his precious trident with him, although that did not impress a rather impervious Dark Pit. "Aw, cheer up! You will have an ulcer sometime soon if you keep it up with the anger!"

"Ulcer my ass," Dark Pit scoffed, before he leaned in and picked up his bow. "Also, for your information: I'm not for sale. You guys are sorely mistaken if you think I want to serve any of you _Gods_."

"Don't act so prickly, you're an angel: that's in your nature to be submissive," Poseidon said. Dark Pit rolled eyes and growled under his breath, pissed off because that was anything but true. The God of the Seas stared at him silently, still smiling, though the light in his eyes was very cryptic; it was somewhere between childish amusement and profound, boiling wrath. He approached Dark Pit when he least expected it, when he was turning his back to the God of the Seas actually, and put a hand over his mouth so that he wouldn't scream for help. Dark Pit instead separated his bow and sent a powerful kick in the God's leg.

Poseidon lost his balance for a brief second, which was enough for the dark angel to recoil, and was soon attacked with two burning hot blades. They still radiated a mighty energy that even him couldn't withstand. The God of the Seas took a step back, petrified, and thankfully avoided the blades. Dark Pit smirked and folded his arms, deeply amused. "What do you think you're doing, asshole? I said I'm not for sale."

Poseidon was about to reply when he was shot from behind. He spun around, only to be met with the sight of Pit, who held his Palutena Bow. "Leave Pittoo alone!"

Dark Pit rolled eyes when he saw him and groaned that he 'could've done it all on my own, don't need your assistance'. The God of the Seas watched in awe as the light angel's wings started glowing, thing that had never happened in the past unless he was guided by Palutena. Dark Pit also appeared to notice it, since he was staring with his mouth gaping at the angel of light. His wings were shining brighter than the sun itself, nearly blinding Poseidon and the darker version of Pit. The God looked over his shoulder, his blue eyes meeting those of the dark twin, and he gulped. "It's impossible…" he whispered in terror. "Those were only legends! The Angel of the Sun has been killed!"

"Well, no he hasn't," Dark Pit smirked. Pit had no clue what they were talking about, but his darker counterpart decided not to mind him at the moment. Legends and books were not really Pit's favorite subject… "Medusa thought that she killed him, but his new incarnation is standing before your very eyes."

"Pittoo, what is this about?" Pit voiced out his worries, fidgeting with his hands.

Poseidon, on the other hand, was on the verge of raging. "Eros had been killed to avoid this situation! Mistress Medusa destroyed him, so that he wouldn't be an obstacle during her rise!"

"Aw, you'd like a handkerchief to wipe your tears~?" Dark Pit teased before he cleared his throat and left his bow on the table behind him, in order to walk up to Pit despite the intense brilliance which came from him. He simply put a hand up to cover his face—mainly his eyes, for that matter—and let his steps guide him towards him. Pit frowned, for he didn't seem to see the light that emanated from his wings, and hugged his darker half. His heart was beating so fast, he had feared to lose him. When he had seen the God of the Seas trying to abduct Dark Pit, he had felt the rush of adrenaline in his veins and had quickly stepped in. Little did Dark Pit know, he had been observing him since the beginning. His gut feeling had warned him that something evil was lurking in the shadows, and he had wanted to make sure that his twin was out of any danger.

Pit eyed at Poseidon, and mainly at the dark waves that his soul produced: he had succumbed to Medusa's evil, he felt it, he knew it. "Pittoo, stand back!" he demanded.

"As you wish." Dark Pit didn't insist and stepped out of the room, though he kept the door open to watch. How he wished that he had brought popcorn… "Kick his ass, Pit-stain!" he encouraged his twin, who had engaged in a merciless battle with the God of the Seas.

Poseidon nearly impaled the light angel on his trident, however Pit had seen it coming and had successfully evaded it by launching himself to the ground. He cried out in pain, very theatrical like always, and quickly avoided the trident which had threatened to stab him in the stomach. He rolled to the side, wrapping his white, glowing wings around himself so that he was out of danger until he got back on his feet. Dark Pit leaned against the door, resting his shoulder on it and crossing his arms against his chest. The sparkle in his red eyes as he watched the scene play out showed just how much he was enjoying it. Pit countered a vicious attack that had been perpetrated behind his back, stopping it with his bow. He pushed the God of the Seas and spun his weapon, though not fast enough to generate his shield.

Taking advantage of that, Poseidon held out his trident and nearly shot the angel dead with a wave of poisonous water heading right for him. Pit dashed towards his opponent, his bow still spinning between his fingers—he was incredibly talented, it didn't seem like he could be stopped—and slashed the God's arm. Poseidon cried out in pain and grasped the angel's hair, though Dark Pit decided to step in and kick him in the neck. Thankfully that was enough and Poseidon released Pit, who held onto his golden bow and intercepted another trident attack. "You're quite the fighter, Pit," the God of the Seas grunted between his loud, heavy breaths, still swinging his trident towards the angel of light and attempting to impale him on it. "But you're not strong enough, I can't feel your passion."

Pit gritted his teeth and launched himself towards his enemy, barely avoiding the trident that aimed for his stomach again. He spun his bow, stopping each and every attack coming his way, and suddenly grasped it in order to slice into the God of the Seas' chest. "Still no insight of my passion?!" Pit asked, his lungs burning because he lacked air, and he quickly raised his bow to counter the trident. Poseidon groaned once more, out of breath, and moaned with the huge amount of blood that he was losing. He knew that he wouldn't make it, so he stepped back.

And thus, Poseidon was defeated, much to Dark Pit's entertainment: it was always so thrilling to see an angel, a subordinate, beat a boss like the God of the Seas. It was highly satisfying. The God had a hard time standing up, cringing at the sore feeling in his whole body while he had to listen to Dark Pit's sneering. "Very well, I guess I shall leave then. You know it's only delaying the inevitable," he growled.

"Oh no, not really," Dark Pit smirked, then he walked towards Pit and put a hand on his shoulder. "This angel is under _my_ protection. Thus, give up on him: you'll never get him no matter how hard you try."

Poseidon gritted his teeth and vanished in a flash of blue light. The light angel blinked, heavily confused, thousands of questions running through his mind. Wanting answers above anything, he faced his darker twin and opened his mouth, however he had no idea of what to ask him. There were so many things that he didn't understand in their conversation. What about the God of Love? What about… legends? What was this all about?! Pit stared at Dark Pit, completely lost in his thoughts, and was about to ask questions when he felt his twin's finger on his lips. "No, shh, don't think about it!" he hushed him, then his eyes shone with pure lust as he dived into those blue of Pit. He leaned forward and sealed their lips together. The light angel's wings fluttered and stopped glowing, which eased his dark version's eyes. They both wrapped their arms around one another.

Eventually, Dark Pit let go of his lips to whisper in his ear: "What would you think of heading towards my quarters~?"

"Do you mean what you mean?" Pit asked innocently, which actually confused his twin more than anything else. Seeing that Dark Pit had frowned, completely puzzled and about to snap at his twin for being so vague whenever he opened his mouth, the angel of light fluttered his wings and said: "I mean, do you mean that we're going to be loud?"

"Depends on whether or not _you_ 're loud, sweetheart~."

Pit blushed wildly. "How could I know?! I've never done this before."

Dark Pit chuckled and bit his earlobe. He had to say that he felt quite impatient, even though there was still this lingering fear that heaved his stomach a little. He would make sure to get rid of it, because he couldn't resist his urges anymore: he wanted Pit, right there and then, and there was no way that he'd back down this time. "Well, I'll make your first time memorable~."

"But how do we do that even?" Pit asked, confused above what words could express. Was it possible between two males? Probably… Dark Pit probably knew how to make it work, at least, so he would trust him. Although, he had one request: "I kinda feel safer when I'm the lead…"

"Bad habits~!" the dark angel purred in his ear, while he licked its insides and sent waves of desire down Pit's spine. His lighter twin clung onto his shoulders and pulled him closer, holding him tight. Dark Pit smirked and giggled under his breath, sounding so seductive that even that brought a strange, tickling sensation in Pit's stomach. The angel with dark teal feathers caressed his lighter half's torso teasingly, forcing him to drop his weapon to the ground. "I'm the dominant one here, you just have to let me take the wheel and you'll have a good time~."

Pit gulped, really impatient he had to say, and eyed at Dark Pit's hair—it was all that he could really see, since the other was eating his ear. "I'm definitely dominant, I'm the original," he said, determined.

"Pit, seriously—"

"In _this_ dimension, I get to be the lead. But I promise that, if we ever go to your dimension, you'll be tops all the time."

Dark Pit rolled his eyes at the empty promise but accepted. He looked at his lighter twin in the eyes and kissed him abruptly, pinning him to the wall behind them—fortunately there was one, otherwise they would just have fallen and it'd have been embarrassing. The dark angel smirked and pinned Pit's hands to the wall, making sure that he couldn't move even if he tried to. Pit's wings had suddenly become more tense, and that allowed Dark Pit to run his fingers through those soft, velvety feathers.

They were so bright, so adorable: their shape was much rounder than that of his own feathers. Though he had to say, they lacked intensity, they lacked colors; he wished that they could've been light pink or slightly yellow, or even blue why not—like his very own in his original world. That vibrant white was pure, innocent, just like the angel who owned them, but it still didn't look appealing enough. Dark Pit longed for colorful feathers, so that they could cross their wings and be delighted by the contrast of their different tints. Pit's feathers looked like a blank canvas, that needed to be painted on, whereas Dark Pit's dark teal ones were like that of a duck's silky wings in the rays of the sun.

Dark Pit grasped Pit's hand and led him towards the main hall, where they went straight for the door to the right. They walked along a dark, gloomy corridor until they reached two doors that were kept closed with a climbing plant tied around the handles. The dark angel untangled them and threw them to the ground without a glance for them, and turned to face Pit, who had cute flushed cheeks. Even though the perspective of sharing his body with someone was still a little scary, Dark Pit knew how much he could trust Pit with it: he was the angel of the legends after all! The light at the end of the tunnel. Though from the confused look on Pit's face when he had heard his conversation with Poseidon, he'd have a lot of things to explain in the future…

For the time being, he was a lot more interested in pushing him on this bed and being at his mercy all night long~. That promised to be some fun, since Pit had no idea what he was supposed to do… Maybe they'd share good laughs out of this, so it was still more than worth it in Dark Pit's opinion.

"You still have to tell me about this 'legend' that Poseidon mentioned," Pit said, way too insistent on the subject in Dark Pit's taste.

"Aw, shut up…" he answered before he pulled Pit into a passionate, hungry kiss.

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 _To be continued…_


	24. Chapter 23: Safety first!

_**Hello again! Sorry for not posting yesterday, I was busy with my special someone on Valentine's. I hope you all spent a good Valentine's Day! :) Things are about to go downhill in this fiction, you should like the changes that will occur! Don't hesitate to tell me.**_

 _ **Yours truly, Circle of J.**_

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 **Disclaimer: ****I do not own the characters. The deities mentioned are taken from Greek Mythology, remastered the way I imagine them. What I own, on the other hand, is the plot.**

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 **Kid Icarus: Heirs of the Light**

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 _Chapter 23: Safety first!_

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In his lifetime, Dark Pit admitted that he consumed way more books than he had kissed lips. He was an angel who yearned for knowledge more than he longed for the warmth of a body against his own, although he wasn't going to spit on it. For the longest time, he had regretted his decision to stay away from Love, to stay away from people in general… Well, that until very recently. With all the legends and prophecies surrounding Pit's story and future, he was glad that he chose to lock himself up in those libraries in his dimension! His mother Aphrodite used to tell him to go out, to enjoy the daylight, though he never did: everytime he had been around people, he had immediately felt bored out of his mind. That helped him however, since in the meantime he sparred in his own corner, training his aim with his Angel Bow, which was a gift from the Goddess of Love.

Oh, he remembered it clearly, for it looked similar to the one that Pit owned: it was red and golden, and shot arrows with hearts as tips. Very sharp hearts though, one didn't want to lure those ones. The rest of the time, he kept reading, and reading, and reading, every single book that was related to his and other dimensions had always seemed to fascinate him the most. The idea that some version of himself, somewhere in the Universe, might be the strongest God of his dimension brought a smile on his lips. One thing had always allured him: power. He had wanted it so badly, but knew that, in his dimension, in his context, it was impossible to get it. Though that did not deter him, he had still tried to get in contact with another version of himself that may hold such power numerous times. He had followed weird, shady rituals that he found in his readings; all to no avail. If he had known that the Sacred Mirror was the answer to all of his problems, he would've dived foot first into it immediately.

Dark Pit shook his head, steering himself away from his burdening thoughts, and began reading again. He was in Skyworld's library, which was filled with interesting books dealing with the Gods and their stories—that included their artifacts, which particularly struck his fancy. He had read a whole section about the stabilizer, and knew exactly how to use it; that was one thing that worried him less now. He also read about the Ancient Portal in this dimension, which was very similar to his own, but couldn't find where it was located and how to make it work. It kept saying that Hermes could open it, and only him, so... no luck there. Dark Pit swore to himself that he would look around; it had to be on the Overworld somewhere, probably at a pond since those things were erected in the middle of them.

The dark angel kept on reading, scavenging through different bookshelves in order to find all that he wanted, however he had found very few information about Aphrodite's necklace. All that he found was that it thrived on the life force of whoever wore it. That honestly turned his stomach: Pit kept this thing on him all-day long. Was it slowly eating his soul? Dark Pit abruptly closed the book that he was reading and put it back in its bookshelf. He walked towards the door, opening it on Palutena. "Oh, I didn't think I'd see you today," Dark Pit said, shrugging one shoulder before looking off to the side. "Though it doesn't make such a difference to me, I have to admit."

"Can you go and inform Pit that I want to talk to the two of you soon?" The Goddess of Light asked; she sounded worried.

Dark Pit eyed at her and raised an eyebrow, his hands on his hips like usual. " _How_ soon?"

"Uhm, ten to fifteen minutes? Maybe? If you're not too busy by then, that'd be perfect…"

The dark angel nodded, absent-minded, and walked past her without a glance behind. Palutena smiled to herself, nervous even though she wasn't surprised by his indifferent behavior, and quickly headed towards a bookshelf to grab a good dozen of books. Dark Pit glanced back at her, perplexed by her attitude, though he decided that he couldn't possibly care less. So, instead of asking her pointless questions, he headed towards Pit's quarters. He could almost go there with his eyes shut: he had been there a lot of times already, he knew the way like the back of his hand. Dark Pit barely noticed the Centurions glowering at him on the way, for he was too absorbed in his own thoughts. Palutena's soldiers held onto their bows tighter whenever the dark angel was close to them: they hated the sight of him. He was so insolent, such an asshole all in all, with everyone. Mostly with their captain Pit, and that was where they drew the line; Pit was their little protégé. They didn't allow anyone to talk to him the way Dark Pit always did.

Dark Pit eventually opened an eye and realized that a Centurion was staring at him. "What in the Underworld do you want, little bitch?" he asked aloud, which caused the pointless 'soldier' to draw back. Maybe he feared that the dark version of Pit would attack him? He could've, if he hadn't been so busy thinking about Pit. Thus, he closed his eyes again, folding his arms, and continued on his way to Pit's quarters. Once he reached the big, golden doors that he had been looking for, he knocked and waited for his lighter half to open.

He heard fast footsteps closing in, and soon the right doorway opened on a joyful little angel. "Hiya Pittoo!" he beamed at his sight.

"Yeah, hi. Will you let me in or do I have to stand there endlessly?"

"Why, do your legs hurt, Pittoo?" Pit smiled, a sparkle of mischief in his gorgeous eyes.

The dark angel couldn't help but smile and asked if he could come in once more, a little more insistent this time. Pit moved out of his way and closed after he had walked in, wondering why he was visiting him since he had said that he would spend his day in the library. Dark Pit sat on the edge of his bed and joined his hands on his thighs, before he eyed at Pit and furrowed his brows. "Come here, Pit," he demanded, extending his arms.

Pit nodded and went to sit on Dark Pit's lap, enjoying their embrace. Since they had been one two days earlier, the dark angel had opened up to the idea of cuddles, touches and kisses—way more than he had in the past, that was. It still wasn't his favorite thing in the world, but he accepted them and didn't push nor punch Pit across the face for trying to hold him in his arms. On some rare occasions, such as this one, he would even initiate the hugs, which always made his lighter half feel ecstatic. It was promising for the future of their relationship. "Did you want to talk to me?" Pit asked, curious.

Dark Pit rested his head on Pit's shoulder and the light angel felt his hand trail up his back, until it reached his neck and started to massage it. "Yes, Palutena said she wants to talk to both of us in ten minutes, I assume in her quarters. But for now, I'm more interested in this." Feeling the warm, comforting hands against his tensed up neck, Pit closed his eyes, not seeing the real intentions behind his twin's actions, and soon felt the necklace fall on his lap, as though it had been detached. His eyes blinked open and he eyed down, only to see that Dark Pit had snatched it from him.

Pit was about to protest, when he noticed the gleam of concern in his rubies. "Are you okay, Pittoo? Why do you look so worried, what's going on?"

"I only realize now what it's truly doing to you, and I sure loathe it," Dark Pit replied, still quite vague, and he fastened the necklace around his wrist, to make sure that the stone wasn't in contact with his skin directly. Or, at the very least, that it wouldn't constantly be touching him, since that would allow it to suck out his soul to feed its own energy. Pit peered at it, puzzled, and his darker half continued his explanation: "I read in a book that this thing keeps its energy flowing by eating the life force of what it touches. That's why it's glowing so bright now: it has a little of your soul absorbed in its stone."

Pit gasped in horror and tried to detach it from Dark Pit's arm. "Then you also need to take it off!"

However, the dark angel pushed his hands off and glared at him dangerously. "Don't touch it! Did you not hear what I said?! It's eating up your soul, Pit, your very core! I can't let you have it."

"But you can't keep it on! It's also doing that to you."

"I could care less."

Pit frowned and groaned under his breath. "Well I care! So take it right off!"

"FINE!" Dark Pit sighed, before he reluctantly took off the damned jewel. He kept it in his palm for a short moment, then opened Pit's drawer and put it away in it. He demanded that Pit never open it again, for that would put him in grave danger. Intimidated, the angel of light had agreed and didn't look back at it. Dark Pit appeared to be relieved: he couldn't let Pit take it again, it was too risky, so it eased his mind to know that he wouldn't touch it. With the light angel's energy flowing within the stone, the necklace could be taken from them at any time and never stop glowing, which would… make the opening of an interdimensional portal at anyone's reach, even that of Medusa. They couldn't afford to lose the necklace. Like Palutena had said, they had no idea of what the evil Goddess planned to do with it. Little did they know, they would soon have a very, very clear idea of what she had wanted.

But before that, Dark Pit had decided to give an answer to Pit's lingering questions about his conversation with Poseidon. He was about to talk when he remembered that they had to be somewhere, and he pulled Pit by the wrist. Despite the light angel's protest, they went to Palutena's room, since the Goddess of Light had said that she wanted to meet them, Dark Pit holding two big books under his arm. Pit glanced at them and inquired if he had ever read them completely, question to which the dark angel snarled and said that, of course, he had even read them several times. His lighter counterpart had pouted, looked down, and said that he also would like to learn how to read.

Dark Pit smirked, since he had understood the message behind his complaints, and suggested that he should ask Palutena. After all, wasn't she a mother figure to him? Why would he, of all people, be the one to teach this angel how to read when he had something akin to a parent by his side? However, Pit had replied that Palutena wouldn't have time for that, and that besides he'd like it better if it was his twin who taught him anyways.

This time around, the dark angel didn't reply and opened the tall, heavy golden doors leading to Palutena's private quarters. He immediately noticed the difference with Pit's: they were way… richer, to so many extents. The walls were covered in gold paint, and the bed itself was gigantic, with green silky blankets and dozens of gold-and-silver-coated cushions.

The Goddess of Light was laying down on it, surrounded by her pillows, and looked up to them when they walked in. She sat up, cross-legged on the bed. "Oh, there you are! I was starting to believe that you had forgotten. Come sit next to me!"

The two angels walked up to the bed and looked at each other, shrugging their shoulders. Dark Pit scanned the room with his eyes for a minute, doing a small tour and running his fingers along the golden furniture around, before he raised his head towards Palutena and Pit. There was a ridiculously small pile of books at her side, and the dark angel couldn't help but snort at the sight of them. He admitted that he felt amused: she wasn't much of a reader, was she now? Those books were meant for kids… "Aw, such _teeny-weeny_ little books, it's almost adorable that you, O Goddess of Light, would read them! I mean, seriously. What even are those, _bedtime stories_?"

"No, Dark Pit, I haven't called you to put you to sleep," Palutena chuckled, then she patted the bed by her side. "Come, I won't bite you."

Pit laughed. "Oh no, we all know that you would never do that, Lady Palutena!"

"I considered eating grilled angel wings more than once actually—"

"L-Lady Palutena, pleeeaaase~! Not that again~!" Pit cried out in sheer terror, his wings stretching in his back while he himself took a sudden step back. "I thought we were done mentioning my wings being cooked!"

"Aw, you poor guy! You know I'm joking, right? Are you really scared?" The Goddess of Light giggled, since she noticed that her captain was shaking from head to toe. Did he take her seriously, again? At least she was comforted by Dark Pit, who had a big smile on his lips: he had understood the joke, perhaps she should switch angels someday. Palutena shook her head and waited for the two angels to be sitting on the bed, in front of her, before she grabbed one of her books from the pile and scanned it with her green eyes. She knew how much Pit wanted answers, how much he craved to know who he really was and why everyone seemed to be fascinated by him, whether they be friends or foes. For that, she had went to the library, shortly after she met Dark Pit, and gathered several books that retold the story of Eros, the God of Love, and his golden, glowing wings. In order to know where he was going, Pit first needed to know where he came from.

Dark Pit folded his arms and lied down on the bed, looking up at the ceiling while waiting for her to read out loud. Pit, on the other hand, remained quiet and was sitting in front of her, slightly bouncing. The bed rocked with his movement, which caused his darker twin to sigh, curse under his breath, and eventually sit up and slap him behind the head. Palutena gasped at the sudden hit that was given to her angel, but noticed just how effective it had been: Pit had completely stopped moving. Dark Pit stayed in his position, pissed off, and the Goddess of Light took advantage of their silence to start: "Pit, you know who Eros is, right?"

Pit looked up, a smile spreading across his lips, and nodded vigorously: "Yes, Lady Palutena! He was the angel God who worked alongside Damsel Aphrodite!"

"'Damsel'? Wow, Pit, you switched camps pretty fast!"

"N-No, that's not—I didn't, Lady Palutena!" Pit defended himself, then his wings fluttered down. "You know how faithful I am to you, Lady Palutena, don't you?"

"Yes, I was joking, Pit! Relax."

Palutena shook her head and eyed at Dark Pit, who had started cursing again since Pit, being very upset by the sudden accusation and wanted to suppress his stress, had started bouncing up and down again. "I swear I will push you to the _fucking_ ground!" Dark Pit growled loudly, taking the two others by surprise, then he looked off and clenched his fists. He would soon reach his breaking point, and that wouldn't be pretty…

The Goddess of Light looked down at the book that she held in her hands and opened it on the bookmark that she had slid in it. She instantly found the paragraph that she wanted to read, and thus began doing so, which instantaneously caught the attention of Dark Pit: " _The God of Sensual Love and Desire, Eros, son of Aphrodite and Ares, was the_ only _angel creature in existence. He was regarded as the protector of homosexual love between men—_ "

"Now you're making this up," Dark Pit interrupted her, wide-eyed. He grunted and shook his head. "I know who I am and that's not the guy you're talking about. Even though I considered Aphrodite to be my mother, I'm damn sure that she didn't create me."

Palutena eyed at him, her green orbs clearly asking him to shut his mouth, and kept on reading the paragraph: " _One night, during Medusa's rise by Hades' sides, he was targeted, for he was the angel with the golden wings: the sun glowed in their core, and that sun blinded the darkness that Medusa represented and wished to expand to every living thing. She made sure to erase him from existence, by using Hermes against him. For that, she cast a spell that enthralled the God of Travel's soul and corrupted it, before she sent him to fight the 'Angel of the Sun'._ "

She looked up at Pit, who seemed to be even more confused than he had been before. What did this have to do with him? If Eros had been killed, why did Dark Pit talk about an 'incarnation'? And, above all, why would it be him, of all people? Somehow he could see the link between them: they both had wings. But Pit's wings didn't glow, did they? He had never witnessed them do such a thing… Or maybe that was why Poseidon had been scared? Maybe that was why Dark Pit had shielded his own eyes when he got close to him? Perhaps he… hadn't noticed but he was glowing? Still, what did this have to do with anything? Perplexed and intending to get more information, the white-winged angel looked into his Goddess' eyes: "Lady Palutena, that's a nice story, I guess, but… Why exactly are you telling me this?"

"Because, _stupid_ , that's who we are!" Dark Pit growled, and despite Palutena warning him with a glare, he rolled eyes and kept going: "In my dimension, Eros, aka me, has been created by a primary God that we call Chaos. The most important thing to note is: I was also the 'Angel of the Sun', or whatever the fuck that even means. Aphrodite told me that she caught my wings glowing a few times, and had claimed that I was the only one able to take down Medusa and, thus, put an end to her reign of fear and terror. Of course, since I'm here now, I can't do that, and my wings have stopped glowing completely."

Pit frowned, listening to his every words, and turned to face his darker twin, with confusion plastered on his face. "So what you mean is that… I'm a God?"

"YES!" Dark Pit snapped at him—this time, he had lost his patience. How long did he need to understand such a simple concept? Palutena had explained everything! Well, she hadn't specifically said that Pit was linked with Eros, she hadn't really brought up their countless similarities, but still! There was only one angel in existence, she had said that and had even emphasized on it! What in the Underworld was wrong with this angel, didn't he have a brain? Dark Pit groaned, about to strangle his lighter half, before he clenched his fists and turned away. The lesser he looked at him, the lesser he'd be willing to squeeze his throat until his eyes bulged out of their sockets.

Palutena smiled at her little angel and explained calmly, since she had been gifted with way more patience than Dark Pit: "As I said, there was only _one_ angel in existence. So that's necessarily you. Eros used a bow when he was still among us, a bow that could make people fall in love."

"Which is why everyone is attracted to me."

"And who the fuck is 'everyone' in your sentence, Pit-stain?!" Dark Pit snapped at him, his cheeks blatantly red.

"Well, you of course, my dear Tsun-Pittoo!" Pit chuckled, and he hugged him. He didn't expect to be brutally pushed away by a grumpy dark angel, who had folded his arms and was mumbling under his breath that he hated that nickname above all things in the Universe—even Medusa and Hermes combined, and that was definitely saying something coming from him.

The Goddess of Light laughed at the sight and eyed at Pit. "Yes, you are right, Pit. You are a natural charmer, thanks to Eros' soul within you."

Dark Pit rolled eyes. "It's clearly the only thing, Pit-stain."

Palutena smiled and ran her hands through her long, tied up hair, before she grabbed a strand and curled it around her finger. She had to say that she had expected things to be harder: Pit could be very… dense at times. Palutena had feared that she would have to explain things over and over, draw countless parallels to help him understand, but in the end he had been pretty receptive. Perhaps growing closer to Dark Pit had stimulated his brain cells, or maybe he was just becoming more mature and perceptive. "Anyways, boys. To go back to the main subject, Medusa wanted to get rid of Eros because he represented a threat to her."

"How so?" Pit inquired.

Dark Pit was on the brink of becoming insane. He turned to face his lighter twin and said, trying to keep his cool despite his boiling anger inside: "Because your wings _glow_ , idiot! _With the rays of the Sun_! I swear to Zeus' name, how oblivious can you be?! She's the Goddess of _Darkness_ , Pit, wake—"

"Actually, no, that's not the main reason," Palutena countered. The dark angel blinked, taken aback, and frowned: what did she mean by 'not the main reason'? He knew what he was saying, that was why she had feared him in his dimension, because he alone could bring an end to her reign of darkness. Or was there something else in this dimension? Because he knew for sure that it was the only thing in his own. He cringed at the memory of his Medusa: she was even more bothersome than this one, to be fair. She occasionally flirted with him, quite openly, and he had hated her for that; such a creep. The Goddess of Light's voice arose, forcing him to focus on their conversation again: "Medusa had always had a little crush on Eros. When they fought for the first time, Eros shot her in the heart, which… caused her to instantly fall in love with him. That's the reason why she asked Hermes to kill him: she couldn't do it anymore, for she longed for him."

Dark Pit became suddenly more possessive and wrapped his arms around Pit's waist, pulling him close to his chest. "Yeah, whatever, she can keep dreaming. He's _mine_ , she'll never get him in her entire existence."

"Those are satisfying words to hear," Palutena said, thankful, and eventually she stood up, untying her hair. She put the books on her bedside table, putting her shoes back on, and walked out of the room, asking for the two angels to follow her. She claimed that there was something that they needed to see. Dark Pit snorted and said that he didn't have time to waste, but even then he followed Pit when he walked after his precious Goddess of Light. She led them to a room with highly restrictive access, where she had set up a table and a chair.

The two angels didn't say a word, glancing around in amazement since the whole room was made of pure gold, and Palutena turned to face them. Her staff appeared in her right hand and she immediately slammed it against the floor, which produced a loud bang that echoed within the room. Dark Pit cringed, was about to tell her never to do that again, when he noticed the light emanating from the staff's orb. Soon after that, it faded completely, and Palutena was able to look at them again without both of the angels being blinded. "I just set up a barrier around the palace. It also covers the training grounds and the gardens, but be careful not to go any further without my assistance."

Pit's eyes widened and he frowned, thinking. He brought his hand to his chin, humming lightly, whereas the two others waited for him to speak up. "Since the Lightning Chariot has been destroyed, nothing can go through, right?" he asked Palutena, who nodded. "Then that means we can still go outside and enjoy the sun rays!"

Dark Pit looked at him, deadpanned, and shook his head. He folded his arms, tapping his right foot on the ground, and a thought crossed his mind. Right when the question occurred to him, he turned around to face the Goddess of Light, who had to leave her staff in the room to make sure that the shield was constantly protecting them. The orb started glowing again as the staff rested on the table, meaning that the barrier was on—probably at least, that was what Dark Pit could assume. "Palutena, what about the hot springs? I think we'll need them a lot, mostly for Pit."

"Because he loves them and you like to see a smile on his lips~?" the Goddess teased him.

The dark angel glowered at her. _Touchy subject_ , she thought to herself, though she couldn't help smirking at his facial expression: he was blushing but kept a bored look in his ruby eyes. He exhaled, pissed off, and turned away from her. "I said that because they are a source of light, primarily. And with all the darkness surrounding us, we'll need to keep an eye out before it devours his soul. We can't afford to lose him," he explained, in a stern voice. Then he looked down at the golden tiles beneath his feet. "You know just like me that… once Darkness eats him, there's no turning back…"

Palutena watched Pit run out, happy that he could finally lay down in the grass under the sun, and stepped closer to Dark Pit. "Yes, I know that… I have lost a few of my peers due to Medusa's darkness: once it invades the soul, there is no cure. You are definitely right, which is why I'd like you to be with him, at all times, to make sure that he's not… succumbing. If you notice that he is starting to get affected, I have a hot spring in my quarters where you ought to bring him immediately. Unfortunately, that is all that I can suggest, since the hot spring temple was out of reach and isn't under the protection of my barrier."

"I guessed that, but that'll do. It's better than losing him, so I must comply," Dark Pit grumbled. He put his hands on his hips when Pit called him out, asking him to come along. Keeping silent so as not to draw his attention on their conversation, the darker version of Pit waited for him to walk back out before talking to Palutena. "Though, I may need your powers for something else before I do that."

"Oh, and what's that?"

"My wing," Dark Pit whimpered, his red eyes filling with heavy tears. The Goddess of Light stood there, taken aback, since she had never seen the proud, arrogant dark angel on the verge of tears. What was happening to him? What bothered him so much about his wing? She remembered how loud he had cried out when he had fallen on his back at Viridi's Sanctum… Could it be that he was wounded? Was it serious? In order to answer her lingering questions, Dark Pit sighed and attempted to flutter his wings; his left wing reacted very well, although it wasn't the case for the right one… It seemed to be broken. In fact, it had barely moved, and that simple shiver had caused the dark angel to moan in pain. He glanced back at the Goddess of Light, a silent tear running down his left cheek. "Please, help me, Palutena… It really hurts and I can't take it anymore…"

Palutena awed and hesitated to take him in her arms, since she was deeply moved by the sadness that she deciphered in his eyes, but opted for a slight touch on the cheek. She told him to follow her back to her room, where she would help him to heal his crippled wing in the hot spring water. She promised that it would be warm and agreeable, and thus he accepted to do it. Dark Pit eyed at Pit, who was standing in the grass, clenching his fists and looking out in terror at the sky.

The angel of light appeared to be lost in his thoughts, his eyes locked on something in the distance, until he shook his head and clenched his fists. Dark Pit decided not to think about it too much, for his wing really needed attendance. They had to take care of it before problems arose… While everything was peaceful, they could relax. As they entered Palutena's quarters and headed right for the hot spring in her bathroom, the dark angel faintly heard his lighter half scream: "Medusa!" and instantly froze.

 _We left him_ _alone_ _outside_ , he thought to himself. _Fuck._

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 _To be continued…_


	25. Chapter 24: The thousand angels

**Disclaimer : ****I do not own the characters, although I took some liberties with our newcomer. The deities mentioned are taken from Greek Mythology, remastered the way I imagine them. What I own, on the other hand, is the plot.**

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 **Kid Icarus: Heirs of the Light**

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 _Chapter 24: The thousand angels_

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Pit gazed out at the sky, terrified and at a complete loss for words. He had a rough time believing his eyes: clouds of dark angels flew around the barrier and attempted to break through it. An interdimensional portal had just opened in front of the palace, behind the light shield which was, for the time being, strong enough to push them away in spite of their assaults. Medusa stood proudly in the distance, sneering, and waved towards the angels that had spurted out of the black hole in front of the Angel of the Sun. Their feathers, whose colors depended on the outfit that the dark version of himself wore, hid the rays of the actual sun, which plunged the gardens and their surroundings into temporary darkness. There were so many of those angels… And the main problem was that all could fly on their own, despite the fact that Pit himself couldn't and had his feet glued to the pavement.

Pit stood straight, gulped and glanced around, trying to find a way to say something even though words were tied to his throat. He briefly turned away, intending to go and warn Palutena, however he had to jump back, for Medusa nearly shot him with one of her deadly bolts of lightning. The angel blinked in shock, surprised that it had even managed to break through the barrier that the Goddess of Light's staff was keeping up, and took a few steps back to avoid another one of those to hurt him. No, he had no intention of becoming a statue again, it had felt terrible enough the first time. Pit tried his best to catch his breath, since his heart was pounding in his chest, and closed his eyes. He hoped that this was just a nightmare, that none of this was happening.

However, he was forcefully dragged back to reality by the Goddess of Darkness' voice echoing through the skies: "Oh Pit~! What a delight to see you here. Have you come to _admire_ my new army?"

The Angel of the Sun shook his head, back to his senses, and clenched his fists. He deplored the fact that he hadn't brought his Palutena Bow… He really could use his weapons at the moment, at least to intimidate his unreachable enemies. "Medusa!" he yelled at her, gritting his teeth in rage. How had she opened a portal without the necklace? Did she even use the Mirror of Truth? How could she open a portal outside of it? Then it clicked: she had Hermes, the God of Travel. If someone could be expected to create such breaches in space and time themselves, it was him.

Pit felt his stomach heave when he watched the Goddess of Darkness; she made him sick to a whole new extent. "Using Gods and perverting them for your own profit?!" he accused her, growling like a stray animal on a leash. "How insane can you be?!"

"Aw, those words warm my heart, Pit. Though I'm afraid that there's no turning back for Hermes," Medusa snickered, then she waved her hand towards her hundreds of angelic minions, whom were all immersed in dark, threatening smoke. Pit assumed that it was the reason why they were against him: their soul had been infected with Medusa's darkness, they weren't their normal selves any longer. But there had to be a way of saving them, all hope wasn't lost for them. The Goddess pointed towards the barrier, which brought Pit back to reality. "Find a weakness and break down that barrier, my lovely angels!"

And that they began to do: they shot hundreds of arrows at the face of the barrier, which glowed vividly, about to break. Pit widened his eyes, realizing the threat that loomed over him, and ran back in the palace, screaming Palutena's name and rushing towards her quarters. The Centurions turned abruptly when they heard the sound of his desperate voice, and were about to ask him if everything was alright, when the barrier broke. The grounds of the palace quaked, sending everyone standing to the ground. Pit, who had been running, tripped and smacked his face into the tiles. Though, that did not deter him; he got back on his feet and pushed on his muscles in order to get to Palutena faster.

"LADY PALUTENA!" he cried out at the top of his lungs, barely avoiding fire from something that was behind him. He didn't care turning around, since his main objective was to find his Goddess and put her to safety. "WE HAVE AN EMERGENCY!" By the time he arrived at the Goddess of Light's doors, she was walking out, panicked. Dark Pit was with her, soaked but holding his staff in his right hand, and aimed it at Pit when he stepped up to them. He shot without warning, hitting an evil angel who had crept behind him and was about to take him down. Pit startled but didn't mind it, tugging Dark Pit's wet hand and quickly heading out. Palutena followed them until they split in two groups, since she had yet to retrieve her staff and had promised to protect the necklace at all costs, so she ought to stay inside.

Meanwhile, the two angels didn't waste time and went to the gardens, but it was too late: Medusa's minions had invaded the place and were fighting the Centurions. Dark Pit clicked his tongue and aimed for several angels, however Pit pulled his arm down. He looked completely submerged by the situation. "Pittoo, remember that we can't kill them!"

"And why the fuck not?!" Dark Pit retorted, shooting one of the angels who had tried to stab a Centurion farther in the distance. The angel, who had dark red wings with an outfit of the same color, fell down and groaned, turning his attention to them. The dark version of Pit smirked and held onto his staff. "You want some?! Bring it on!"

His opponent, who was nothing more than a red version of himself, launched himself towards Dark Pit. The dark angel was fast enough to evade the attack and pushed Pit to the side, engaging in an intense sword fight with the doppelganger. He quickly dodged an assault behind his back and focused on taking down his enemy, who was probably one of the strongest that he had ever fought in his lifetime. He avoided another slice and had to jump in order not to get hit again. When he set foot on the ground, the red angel was already aiming at him. "Oh no you don't!"

But yes he did: his opponent shot an arrow at full speed, perfectly aimed at that. Dark Pit groaned, reflecting the fully charged red arrow with the tip of his right sword. Once he had completely regained his balance, he joined his blades and spun his bow against his palm, in order to generate that dark purple shield that, he had to say, was hard to maintain. He quickly ran out of breath and had to take it down. Nonetheless, it had allowed him to deflect multiple attacks that came in his direction simultaneously, since it appeared that the other angels under Medusa's control had decided to join the fun. "C'mon, the more the merrier! Anyone who wants to die, step right up! I'm serving dinner for everyone!"

The Angel of the Sun, on the other hand, had no idea what he was supposed to do, because he had no weapon in hand, nor any intention of hurting innocent, possessed versions of himself. He had to hide when he was targeted several times, so he jumped behind a tree and breathed in slowly to slack off. Dark Pit and him couldn't kill those angels, they had no right: they were versions of themselves in the other dimensions, who had been corrupted, but versions of themselves anyways! First, killing them would mean unbalancing the Universe, and that was the opposite of what they intended to do since the very beginning of their quest. And second, it just wasn't right to slaughter other versions of their own selves! Medusa had to be aware that they wouldn't kill the cursed angels, that was why she had brought them into their dimension.

"Hey, why me?! _He_ 's the one fighting, attack him!" Pit gasped when he was nearly shot again, succeeding at dodging a dark green arrow that had been destined for him and pointing his finger at Dark Pit. He gritted his teeth and clasped his hands, calling out Palutena. The Goddess of Light didn't need to ask what he wanted: instead of wasting time, she used her powers so that Pit's trusty Palutena Bow manifested in his hands. He thanked her and jumped out of the shadows, joining Dark Pit in his merciless battle against the angels.

Together, they were quite the pair: while Dark Pit took care of aiming perfect shots from a distance, Pit attacked head first with his two blades. They both made sure not to kill the cursed angels, even though they had to admit that it was tempting: they were fighting unfairly. If the fight had been put on in Super Smash Bros., they would definitely be the kind of players to edge guard. That set Pit in a very bad mood, since everytime he was focused on one enemy, two others would creep behind him and shoot his wings. Frustrated, he occasionally let out his rage by screaming like a savage when lashing out at his opponents. Dark Pit found this wrath, this fierceness beyond exciting and frankly arousing; such a _wild animal_ , he loved it. If they hadn't been so busy fighting off those creeps, he'd already have pushed him on a bed to make him his'.

Pit cried out in pain, surrounded by three angels who had shot him at the exact same moment. The light angel was forced to draw back, getting closer to Dark Pit, and the evil angels opted for another strategy: bringing them the closest possible. Once they had done so, after countless vicious attacks on Pit and Dark Pit alike, a pair of them circled them, to make sure that they had nowhere to go. The darker version of Pit grumbled and had to use his shield again to avoid being pierced through and through by dozens of arrows. Pit resigned to do the same thing, until both of them couldn't keep it up and panted heavily.

Dark Pit eyed at his opponents, rage boiling in his stomach, and separated his bow in two, glowing purple blades. "It's _not_ over!" he asserted, determination sticking to his face.

"Pittoo, we… are cornered…" Pit whispered between heavy breaths. He kept his bow close to his chest, ready to counter any incoming attack, even though he had trouble keeping his eyes open with how much energy he had consumed maintaining his shield. In order to catch his breath, he took advantage of the temporary break to scan his opponents from head to toe. They all looked sort of similar to Dark Pit, with swapped colors: there was one wearing all red, one all green, one all purple, and so on. And then, there was that one that looked like him, who dressed in a similar fashion to Dark Pit himself. That made the Angel of the Sun very uncomfortable; it felt as though he was staring into a mirror. He could also see the raven feathers in the copy's back, so dark, so frightening when he thought about it. Was that what would become of him if he succumbed to Medusa's darkness? Pit winced at the thought: yuck.

Dark Pit found Pit's hand and squeezed it in his own, attempting to be reassuring despite their position. "We can still do it, Pit. Trust me."

"Aw, Dark Pit, only you know how to melt my cold heart!" Medusa laughed in the distance, watching Pit cling onto his dark twin's hand with a bright smile on her lips. She had crossed her arms and eyed at the scene before her eyes, delighted by the outcome of the battle, since the two angels that she was missing were surrounded. There was no way that those two were going anywhere now; she had them right where she wanted them to be. Soon, they would be all hers, they would be her trusty commanders. She could already taste victory in her mouth at the sight of them. So adorable… She could use their _love_ to her advantage. Her minions stepped closer to their preys, their eyes glistening with rage. Dark Pit held his breath, preparing for a vicious assault, and so did Pit. They were soon back to back and staring at their enemies with a slight but noticeable lust for blood themselves.

The Goddess of Darkness snorted, which drew their attention: "I must say that I am fairly impressed: you put up quite a fight against my babies, Dark Pit. Such a fierce and ferocious soul, I have longed for it!"

Dark Pit folded his arms, focusing on the words of Medusa, and rolled eyes. As usual, he looked bored out of his mind. "And that's relevant because? Your bastards are still around us, so the fight's not over."

"Of course it is!" Medusa laughed, deeply amused by the dark angel's faint hopes. Such a sweetheart… Did he not realize that this was already over? How would they be able to fight off such strong warriors when they so blatantly outnumbered them? The Goddess of Darkness shook her head, though she admitted that Dark Pit's temper highly entertained her. Maybe she could find something to do for him… once he'd be her personal puppet, that was. "Look around you, Dark Pit. You're just two insignificant angels against a crowd of experienced fighters, whom I have additionally gifted with permanent flight. How can you see a chance of winning?"

The dark angel didn't reply, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists in rage. Pit tensed behind him, noticing that the angels had gotten significantly closer, and gulped in sheer terror. Was it over? Was it the end? Did they lose one more time? The light angel looked down, defeated. His voice cracking up, he still managed to say, under his breath: "Maybe Damsel Aphrodite was wrong about us, Pittoo. Maybe we're not the ones…"

"Stop that," Dark Pit replied, his expression sharp and collected. "We haven't lost yet, and I'll fight until my blood paints the pavement."

"Pittoo, it's—"

"MAKE WAY!" a loud but soft voice erupted from the sky, taking everyone by surprise.

Medusa looked up, puzzled, and gasped in horror when she saw a blond angel heading right towards her commanders, who surrounded Pit and Dark Pit. He was flying with such speed, in his white chiton, that his red scarf ended up sticking to his mouth, thus preventing him from breathing. He briefly stopped, flapping his dazzlingly white wings to stabilize in mid-air, pushed his scarf away and rushed back towards Medusa's new minions.

Dark Pit instinctively pointed his staff towards him and charged a shot, but he frowned when he realized that the other angel was shooting at the possessed angels and not them. He dropped to the ground, nearly falling back with how fast he had landed, and pushed his light red scarf from his face once more. Although it was obvious that he was irritated, he still managed to smile at them. "Hi! I'll explain everything after my _deus ex machina_ moment," was all he said, in a tone rather similar to that of Pit, except that he sounded even more happy-go-lucky than the original—if that even was possible. Pit spun around, peeking over Dark Pit's shoulder.

The intruder was immediately attacked by the evil angels, but in no time he had taken care of them all by himself. He seemed to be an expert in fighting: he never missed one hit, whether it be with his bow, which was completely white with red stripes, or his bare fists.

Medusa groaned in anger and quickly closed the interdimensional portal, in order to ensure that no other 'good' angel would come out of it to save the day. Her white eyes were glowering at Pit and his two sidekicks, and it was very clear that she was about to rage quit. What now, a savior that comes from absolutely nowhere? All of that so that Pit and Dark Pit were no hers yet? Talk about a plot convenience… Anything to add more chapters to this story, hm? Medusa growled and, soon, she had vanished along with her angels. The seven commanders, namely the seven angels who had surrounded Pit and Dark Pit, followed her lead and flew off, surely heading for the Underworld. Dark Pit sighed, exhausted, and looked at his staff. When the other angel approached, he aimed it at him, not minding Pit's complaints on the matter.

The blond angel with the red scarf raised his hands in the air, but that didn't convince Dark Pit that he meant no harm. If he had learnt one thing in his life, it was not to trust anyone. "Explain right now or I blow your head off of your neck."

"Okay! Okay…" the new angel sighed, scratching his elbow. Pit couldn't help but stare at him, slightly amused by the fact that he looked so much like a lighter version of his own self. He had a red medallion, just like that of his darker counterpart now that they had switched, and chrome gray eyes. His laurel crown was just as white as his bow. The main difference was his hair color: he was blond and, strangely, Pit thought that maybe he would've liked to be blond too, because it looked decent. He had always wanted to be a blondie—but never would he admit that.

The foreign angel eyed at the scenery, amazed by every little thing, but soon realized that Dark Pit was still waiting for explanations and still aimed at him with his staff. "Oh, right, sorry! I tend to lose focus in a snap, that's something about me. My name's Tip, and I suppose you guys are the glorious Pit and his… twin-thing, Dark Pit," he smiled, then he extended his hand to them.

"Did. you. just. call. me. ' _t_ _win-thing_ '?!" The dark angel snapped at him, then he squinted his eyes and held on tightly to his staff. "Don't fucking say some shit like that then try to act friendly with me, or you'll end up dead way sooner than you'd think, _blondie_!"

"Oh, come on Pittoooo~! Don't be like thaaat~! You're gonna scare him off!" Pit chuckled and walked up to the new angel, Tip, in order to shake his hand. That was the least that they could do to thank their savior. If it hadn't been for Tip, they would've been captured or, worse, killed on the spot by Medusa's new recruits. The Angel of the Sun then turned around and darted a cheerful look at Dark Pit, who still didn't want to come any closer to this imposter. Tip eyed at him and shrugged one shoulder, before he focused his attention on Pit, the hero that he had been willing to help this whole time. He remembered the words of his God and nodded lightly.

Pit smiled, delighted that they had found another ally, and looked over to his dark twin. "Forgive him, I know he can be intimidating—he's sensitive with the subject of his identity."

"Did you say ' _sensitive_ '?!" Dark Pit nearly choked in his own words.

Pit rolled his wondrous—no, _magnificent_ —blue eyes and shook his hand in the air, to signify that Tip needed not mind him. "But, as I was about to say, he's awesome once you get to know him."

"And he won't get to know me," Dark Pit snarled, narrowing his eyes at Tip. He couldn't exactly tell why, but he felt awfully jealous of the way that Pit looked at him. He couldn't believe that this intruder was stealing his lover's attention. "He's leaving now: he has finished his mission, we don't need a hero anymore."

"Oh, that's not the image I meant to convey!" Tip said, shaking his head. He started fidgeting with his hands when the cold, hate-filled glare of Dark Pit fell on him, and cleared his throat. Now was the perfect time to explain how and why he had been sent there, as well as express his admiration—no, what was he saying—his _obsession_ for Pit. It had been in his heart and soul for as long as he could remember, and seeing the hero in flesh was overwhelming; he couldn't feel his heart beating: Pit was so gorgeous! Even more than he'd have ever thought—"I digress. Uhm…" he said, echoing to his thoughts, which caused the two angels that he saved to stare in confusion. He shook his hand and smiled, brushing his blond bangs from his eyes. "Nevermind that! I also talk to myself from time to time, but doesn't everybody do that?"

"No," Dark Pit replied, his voice stern.

"Oh, well… I do that," Tip said, scratching his elbow again to dissipate his awkwardness. He felt as though the black angel was about to tear him to shreds, while he also felt so attracted, so enthralled by the sight of Pit. His blue eyes shone with the rays of the sun, sending cold shivers down Tip's spine. He cleared his throat again. "I should probably tell you what I'm doing here: Lord Hermes has sent me here to save the Heir of the Light, Pit! I am Seigneur Zeus' most faithful assistant—"

Dark Pit raised an eyebrow, absolutely not convinced, and laughed humorlessly. "The God of the Gods, Zeus! If you please, thy Majesty! Should I bow to your greatness?"

"Pittoo, for Zeus' sake!" Pit interjected, pissed off, and he slapped the other on the back of the head. "Stop behaving like that!"

Tip bit his lower lip, a little embarrassed since he didn't know irony at all, nor wanted to know about it—he liked it when everyone was nice with everyone, but… he had to deal with a douche, apparently. At least, the glorious Pit was there and took his defense, which he was glad about. It appeared that the angel with the red scarf had wanted to say something, but had decided against it at the last second—mainly when he caught Dark Pit's death glare. Instead, he shut his mouth, wiped his chiton to ensure that it was always pure and immaculate white like that of his idol, and eyed back at the two angels. "Lord Hermes told me that a threat loomed over the entire Universe and that only Pit could save us from certain death, so I decided to come, since that is what Seigneur Zeus would w—"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm already here for that. Thy Majesty here can head right back to his dimension," Dark Pit interrupted him again, hands on his hips, before he turned to face Pit, who stood by his side and was ready to slap him again. "Don't you fucking dare slap me again or I pin you to the fucking ground."

Pit frowned and slapped him across the face with no further hesitation. "Don't swear, Pittoo! Do you never listen?!"

"No, because you constantly slap me!" Dark Pit replied, feeling tears at the back of his eyes.

Pit rolled eyes in response and shook his head. He couldn't believe it; now Dark Pit was playing the victim? In front of a new angel who didn't know them? What a good first impression that was… His darker twin was making him look bad—probably on purpose—and Pit loathed that dearly. The light angel clenched his fists and glared at his other half. "If you weren't swearing all the time, I wouldn't have to!"

"Fucking—FOR FUCK'S SAKE—PIT, STOP!" Dark Pit begged after two rather rough slaps in the head. He admitted that they were sort of painful, but the main problem was that he deeply, profoundly hated to be told what to do. He wasn't a child anymore, he had the right to do whatever he felt like doing! If anything, Pit was the child between them both. The light angel slowly lowered his hand and folded his arms, deadly serious, and his darker version growled in frustration. Oh, he'd get back at him in due time, he could be sure of that. "Seriously, Pit, I'm sick of this."

"And _I_ am sick of _you_ not listening to me," the angel of light retorted. Then he glanced at Tip and sighed; Pit seemed unsettled by the insistent looks of the blond angel on his person, but didn't care to mention it, like he usually did since he was a submissive little angel. In order not to pay attention to it, Pit kept looking away, seeking somewhere to run away from Tip.

His darker twin sighed, annoyed, and reluctantly lowered his staff. He didn't care looking back at Tip, because he was absolutely not interesting to him, and, instead, trailed his fingers up to Pit's hand to entwine their fingers—thus ensuring that he couldn't slap him again, which was a good start in his book. Pit looked up, blushing a little, and Dark Pit snorted before glancing at Tip. "Here's to show you who this angel belongs to, just so you don't get too ambitious around my Pit," he said with a smug look on his face.

The blond angel frowned, not happy with that in the slightest. Tip was… acting rather strangely whenever he looked at Pit: there was this insufferable glisten in his gray eyes that told the dark angel to be careful.

"C'mon, Pit," the dark angel whispered in his other half's ear, then he looked over his shoulder to see that Palutena was walking in their direction. He really didn't want that conversation right now, so he wished that they could escape before she arrived. But like usual, he felt like it wouldn't be so easily done with Pit… He always had something to say, didn't he? Praying to Zeus that it wouldn't be the case this time around, Dark Pit tugged at Pit's arm and said insistently: "Come on, babe, we don't have time to waste. We've got a lot of fucking problems to deal with."

"What did I say about swearing, Pittoo?"

"I don't care a single bit?"

"Well, maybe you should. That is, if you don't want me to go with him," Pit retorted out loud, without glancing away from Tip. He then slightly turned his head and his eyes locked in Dark Pit's ruby orbs. He had been bothered by Pit's remark and looked at him in a challenging way, though the angel of light admitted that he didn't care in the slightest. He had made clear several times already that he hated those words; if Dark Pit kept on using them, then that was too bad for him. Steering himself away from his thoughts, Pit squeezed his darker version's hand in his own and smiled, just like the pure ray of sunshine that he was. "You know, we should wait here anyways, since we must inform Lady Palutena of what has happened."

"And what has, my sweet little Pit?"

Pit jumped when he heard his Goddess respond, and jumped again when he realized that she was standing behind him. Right on time, like she always was. The light angel took a few steps back and bumped into Tip, who fell on his back against the pavement of the pathway. Dark Pit couldn't help but snicker at the sight: "That's what you get for checking out my Pit," he smirked victoriously, more than satisfied. Sometimes, Fate was the best teacher of all.

Palutena blinked when she saw that there was another angel, and Pit hoped that she wouldn't pass out. Accepting the existence of Dark Pit had already been quite complicated… and her most faithful angel truly didn't know how well she could handle to go through it again. Plus, Tip came from another dimension… Well, Dark Pit too, but at first she had believed that he was just a reflection, so it still made it easier for her. This time around, there was no such thing as a mirror… The Goddess of Light stared at the blond angel for a long, silent minute, taken aback, and finally glanced at Dark Pit, whom she admitted reassured her with his presence alone. "Do you know who that is, Pittoo?"

Dark Pit hummed questionably, folded his arms and tapped his foot on the ground. Once again, he successfully managed to cover his emotions with a mask of coldness, of carelessness, like he so often did. His red eyes looked as deadpanned as they could be when he glanced back at Palutena. "Oh. Him? He's an asshole, that's what he is."

"Pittoo!" Pit reacted, his wings jerking up to express his disapproval. "What did I say about those words again?"

"I don't fucking care, Pit-stain!" the dark angel retorted, then he rolled his eyes and looked off to the side. Pit furrowed his brows, raising his hand, and the dark angel gulped in sheer terror. He hated being told what to do, he was responsible enough to choose which words he wanted to use! Though, he loathed to see Pit upset… He looked so pissed off, how could simple words trigger such a reaction in him? Ugh… Dark Pit thought about it, eyeing at the few birds who stood on the edge of the fountain, until he lowered his head and sighed in defeat. He turned to glance at his lighter version, who was strongly hesitating to slap him but stopped when he met his saddened gaze. "… Sorry, Pit."

The Angel of the Sun smiled, since he enjoyed to have the upper hand on his gloom and doom Dark Pit, and lowered his hand. He made his way up to his darker half and hugged him from behind. The dark angel didn't react, looking out into the distance, and Palutena took advantage of their silence to turn to Tip.

Zeus' messenger had stood up, brushing some dirt off of his chiton, and suddenly glanced up at her. He seemed to be rather puzzled; did he not know who she was? Did she not exist in his dimension? The Goddess of Light walked closer to him, inspecting his soul to make sure that he wasn't foe, and smiled, happy with what she had discovered in him. He had been sent by Zeus, for whom he worked in his own dimension, which meant that he would be a skilled fighter—probably as talented as Dark Pit, although she still doubted that. They desperately needed them, for the fight coming up would be consuming for everyone involved. But there was one lingering question: how did he find his way to their world? Did Hermes, in his home world, open a portal to send him to their rescue?

Tip eyed at her, wondering why she hadn't said anything, since himself was quite the talker. He wiped his chiton again and put his scarf properly, then ruffled his own hair since he liked it messy—like Pit's _wonderful_ hazel bangs. "And you are?" he asked, sick of the silence between them. He needed to make conversation! Normally, he would spend hours along talking with his Seigneur about anything and everything. If he had been given a voice, it was to use it! "You sure look like a Goddess—and I mean it as a compliment!"

"I am Palutena, the Goddess of Light," she introduced herself to him, smiling.

The blond angel gasped and his wings perked up. "Palutena?! You are so different! Our Palutena has short red hair with a short green dress!"

Dark Pit, who had been listening to the conversation, snorted: so that was why Kronos and Chaos had chosen _their_ dimensions to cross; they were the closest to one another. Crossing two dimensions that had nothing to do with each other would have brought more problems to the surface, that made sense. The dark angel spun around and took Pit in a warm embrace as he looked at Palutena and Tip. It appeared that the angel would be staying with them, since he claimed that he had no way of going back to his world until he had accomplished his mission. The Goddess of Light had guaranteed that she had a room for him, which caused Dark Pit to frown; she had always said that all of her rooms were full when he had wanted to come and live in Skyworld. He realized only then that she just didn't want him to be with Pit at the time. Things had changed since then, but it still hurt his feelings to some extent.

Tip's annoying voice brought him back to reality, because he had been so excited about something that he had screamed at the top of his lungs. Pit laughed, watching the Goddess of Light interacting with their new brother, and eyed at Dark Pit. The latter had a sharp expression, frowning and curving his lip. "I'm sure he crushes on you," Dark Pit said, and Pit puffed and chuckled.

"What makes you say that? The way he always seems to be looking at me as though I was a sex God?" Pit joked around, because he also had noticed. He could be oblivious, but he wasn't the most stupid angel the Universe had known. That was why he was so uncomfortable around Tip: he was somewhat flirtatious and he only belonged to Dark Pit.

The dark angel looked at Pit, whom he still hugged tightly, and kissed him on top of the head. "You literally _are_ a sex God—and I'm not saying that just because I got a taste of you once."

"P-Pittoo—"

"Pit, no, listen, what I meant to say was that it's your _title_!" Dark Pit defended himself when he caught the reddening cheeks of his lighter half. Pit looked at him with wide, round eyes and put a finger on his own lips, whispering 'shhh!' everytime his twin added something to explain himself. He tried to tell him that it was because he was Eros, who was the God of Sensual Love as they had seen together, but eventually Pit shut him up with a passionate kiss. It proved itself to be effective: Dark Pit immediately stopped talking to focus on eating up those lips.

Palutena turned to face her two angels—well, the two that she had already adopted in her heart a long time ago—and cleared her throat. That instantly put an end to their hungry, lustful kiss, and they faced her with burning cheeks. The Goddess of Light told them that they had a lot of things to take care of, namely those thousand angels that Tip had to tell her about himself, since none of them had bothered to do so. Pit had felt slightly guilty after hearing those words and walked back to the palace alongside Palutena, telling her about the battle and what those cursed angels had looked like.

Dark Pit stayed behind, as he often did, and folded his arms in annoyance. He hated small talk, except when it was with Pit. So when the Goddess of Light asked him to join in, he refused the offer and stepped back, in order to be farther away from her. Tip walked in front of him, although he didn't dare to participate in Pit and Palutena's conversation. His gray eyes sparkled every time Pit's voice rang in his eardrums and he wished that he could find it in his heart to exchange with him on the subject, however he was too shy. Palutena was a Goddess for whom he had a lot of respect, and thus he thought that interrupting her would be regarded as particularly impolite.

The group found their way to the palace, where Palutena said that she ought to leave them, since she needed to work on a new barrier that would last longer. Pit had simply nodded. Dark Pit approached him like a predator eyeing at his prey, and came up to his ear to nibble on it. "We could use some privacy, babe~..."

"Right now?" Pit asked innocently.

"You're not keeping me waiting~..."

The light angel shivered when he heard his darker version's answer and turned to look at Tip, who was standing there waiting for instructions. He hummed for a minute, wondering how he could get out of this situation without it looking suspicious—although it genuinely already did look suspicious—and asked the Centurions to take their new friend to the training fields. He said, as an excuse, that he had realized how strong and how much of an expert Zeus' messenger was, and that he wanted him to try and spend some time with his troops. Always happy to help, Tip didn't question it and followed the two Strongarms who led the way, going right out the doors of the palace.

Dark Pit purred in Pit's ear. "Well played~... Now let me play with you, let's go to your room~..."

Pit didn't need to be asked twice.

* * *

.oOo.

* * *

After they had finished the small tour of the palace—with Tip gasping at the sight of every room, since they were filled with gold and sophisticated decors, Pit and his doppelgangers reached the Main Hall, where they wondered what they could do to have a good talk. Having a clear idea of where he wanted to head, Palutena's captain turned to his two counterparts and suggested that they take a trip to the hot springs, since he craved for a good soak in the burning hot water. When he caught Dark Pit's glare, the light angel whined about being exhausted and needing to rest a little.

Dark Pit snickered, because he knew why he felt so tired, and gladly accepted to follow. That was, if they were just the two of them, but it didn't turn out to be the case: Tip was meant to join them. "Then I'm not coming," Dark Pit said, turning his back to Pit.

The angel of light sighed sadly and hugged him from behind. "Please, Pittoo! Just this one time!"

"I said no."

"Then we can exchange about our respective dimensions!"

"NO!"

"Then he can tell us about his own without us talking about our dimensions!" Pit insisted, bouncing on his feet, and he sighed in defeat when the other shook his head vigorously with a loud, ferocious: 'NO PIT, NO!'. He honestly didn't know how he could convince him; he was out of options and he hated that. When Dark Pit was determined not to do something, nothing could change his mind on the matter… Pit looked off and let go of his darker twin, heartbroken, before eyeing at Tip who was beyond embarrassed. He definitely felt like he didn't belong, and Pit couldn't allow that; he was way too good-hearted to accept bullying someone.

With a serious expression, he stomped his feet and glowered at Dark Pit, who turned to him curiously. "Then if you're not coming, that's too bad for you: I'll go and bathe with him on my own."

The dark angel's eyes widened in horror. "No fucking way you're going _anywhere_ without me."

"I won't hesitate though. It's really up to you to follow or not."

Dark Pit raised an eyebrow; was he serious? Was he pulling on his heart strings to get him to do something against his will? Was he manipulating him? Incredulous, the dark angel gritted his teeth and turned away from the two other angels. Fine, he'd do it, whatever. He had nothing better to do anyways. Dark Pit even tried to persuade himself that this trip to the hot springs was an occasion like no other, because they would be alone and could talk more about Tip's original dimension… It didn't work out as well as he'd hoped, but at least he started to be looking forward to it a bit. He had to say that he wanted to get as much information as possible on why exactly Tip seemed so obsessed with Pit, and, for that, no place would be more perfect than the hot springs.

Thus reunited and everyone agreeing to head to the hot spring temple, the trio of angels walked down to the hot spring temple. Pit led them to the showers, since they had to take one before entering, and although Dark Pit knew that, he still listened, yearning for the sound of Pit's voice. He struggled in explaining the benefits of the hot spring waters, like usual, nothing surprising. After a short shower, the three angels went to the hottest bath in the temple. As soon as he sat in it, Pit let out a loud moan of pleasure, which brought back nice memories to Dark Pit's mind. The dark angel had chosen to sit right next to him, so that Tip wouldn't dare getting too close, and eyed at the blond angel who was sitting on the other side of the small bath.

Pit enjoyed the silence, feeling all of his problems disappear. He had longed for such a moment in his day… After the attack, things had gone by pretty fast: between his love session with Dark Pit and his grand tour of the palace… his day had passed by with such speed that he felt genuinely out of breath. He needed a breather, and his precious hot springs were perfect for that. The light angel looked at Dark Pit, who was closing his eyes and drifting in his own thoughts, and remembered the fight; he really felt strange about these angels… They could fly on their own! Well, Medusa had said that she had granted them with permanent flight, but how reliable could she be? Perhaps those angels didn't even need her help to begin with…

However, that was not what bothered him the most in all of this: Pit was more disturbed by the fact that… he felt like it wouldn't be right to kill them. Why was that? Was it because they looked so much like him? After all, wasn't it what they were: other versions of him from other dimensions? He sighed at the thought; they definitely couldn't kill them, they were not acting on their own will… If they had been themselves, they never would've tried to kill them the way they did earlier, and he knew it deep within himself. He couldn't… accept to hurt them. Somehow, he needed to figure out a way to bring them home.

Pit opened his eyes, which he didn't even realize he had closed in the first place, before he spoke up to fill the silence. He wanted to talk things out, he wanted his friends' ideas and opinion on the matter. He knew that he wouldn't figure this out on his own… Having Dark Pit to help him was much needed. "About those angels, something feels off, don't you think?"

"What does, Pit-stain?" Dark Pit asked, then he snorted. "The fact that they look so _ugly_ when they are supposed to be our replicas? Because that definitely bothered me. I felt insulted."

Pit laughed out loud; he had to say that he wasn't completely wrong about that; some of these angels did look nasty—like that red one for instance, with his smoking black eyes… He was probably the scariest of the bunch. But that was entirely because he was corrupted, they had to take that into account. Maybe he was super handsome when he wasn't… steaming with dark energy. Although it was something he was also wondering about, Pit had to say that it wasn't the biggest of his concerns at the moment. "No, it's not that, though I can't deny that you have a point, Pittoo. I wanted to talk about the fact that they are willing to kill us…"

"And why the fuck shouldn't they be, exactly? Tell me, you're making me curious," the dark angel instantly replied, rolling his eyes. He folded his arms, remembering Pit telling him not to kill the angels—for whatever reason that he didn't mind mentioning. Why was it so concerning to him, whether they killed those cursed beings or not? They were not in their right minds anyways, they probably wouldn't even realize what was happening. It was honestly freeing them from their own selves, if they killed them: deep down, those angels were still battling against an enemy that they would never defeat. They were still struggling to come back to their senses, to take back what belonged to them: their conscience and their body.

But Dark Pit knew that they would never win, it was a pointless battle to begin with; being affected by the darkness could be countered, but once the soul was _corrupted_ , _possessed_ by it, it was a different story. When he thought about it, if they couldn't kill them—because Mr. Pit said so—then how did they plan on winning this war against Medusa, who was using them for defense? That alone was a problem. They would not be able to fight her darkness if those angels constantly meddled with their affairs, and he was absolutely certain that they would until they got killed.

Dark Pit eyed at Pit, who had been staring at him in silence. He gritted his teeth, growing more and more irritated. "Pit, seriously, what's up with you and these _stupid_ angels? I really don't see any problem in killing them, I even see it as doing them a favor, you see. I'll be blunt in my words, but those assholes are possessed to the bone, right? And they're out for our blood, prima facie. You think they'll give up on us magically?"

"No!"

"Then why do you care about them _so much_? They are out to kill you, Pit! Or, should I say: us, _all of us_ , because we represent the Light. So I would like you to explain to me why you give a shit."

The Angel of the Sun sighed. "Because they are versions of us, if anything, Pittoo!" he replied, frustrated, then he fidgeted with his hands. "That's why they shouldn't be trying to kill us. They are versions of us, no more and no less, that have been corrupted by Medusa's darkness! Remember that they are not themselves. It's really not right to kill them for something they're unwillingly doing!"

"But they are a threat to us, Pit, do you understand that?!" Dark Pit retorted, his eyes blazing fires at his lighter twin.

Pit shook his head and squeezed his darker version's hands in his own, as though he tried to comfort him on the matter. His blue orbs filled with tears when he started again, his voice hoarse with sorrow: "They are not dangerous within themselves, I know it! I'm sure we can find a solution!"

"No, Pit."

"Yes! I know we can! We can free them and send them back to their own dimensions, where they belong!"

Dark Pit groaned and did his best to suppress his growing anger. "And what, hm? In the meantime, we let them beat us up, invade Skyworld, threaten the very safety of everyone in this palace?! We take the risk to let you _die_ in their hands when you're the only hope for this dimension and, by extension, for the whole fucking Universe?!"

The angel of light glared at him despite the tears menacing to flow down his cheeks. "Well, yes! If that's the only way, because I'm not killing them! They are angels, just like us, who have been corrupted by Medusa's evil! It could happen to either of us, and you know that! And so what, Dark Pit?" he asked, accusative, and he dived into those glowering red orbs that were fixed on him. "If that happened to me, if I was to be possessed and out of my mind, wouldn't you look for a way? Wouldn't you do _everything_ to save me, even if I threatened to kill you everytime we meet?"

Dark Pit looked off, annoyed, and sighed heavily. A silent tear ran down his cheeks as he shook his head negatively. "No, Pit, I wouldn't," he whispered under his breath.

Pit's eyes filled with even more tears, and he stared at his darker twin without believing it. Shocked, he asked what he meant by that, if he really meant those words in the first place, though the dark angel didn't have the strength to tell him again that no, he wouldn't look for a way to save him. He had tried so many times in the past… In his own dimension, he had fought endless hordes of enemies while trying to find a cure for his mother Aphrodite, all to no avail. He had spent days, months, years fighting off enemies which were growing stronger than him overtime because of how tired he was. He had nearly died countless times, had been heavily wounded even more times than that, had lost his friends, everyone that he knew—even his own self, at the end he had no idea of who he was and why he was even fighting anymore. So yes, he knew damn well that, once the curse was set in one's soul, it would never fade away. And his heart would hurt too much if he ever saw Pit in the state of his mother.

Pit was his ray of sunshine… He was always so cheerful, so happy all the time, so adorable… If he ever was corrupted by the darkness, he would lose himself in the darkness of his own mind. He would constantly try to fight the power within him, he would weaken his own soul until it was too exhausted to fight. It would be… painful, horrendously painful for himself and those around him, who would witness his downfall without being able to do _anything_ about it.

So yes, Dark Pit would have no choice but to kill Pit right away if that ever happened, for his own sake and that of the people who had once loved him. Pit tugged at his hand, demanding an answer in a shaking voice, and Dark Pit looked up at him, his own face drowned in tears. "If that happened, if you were possessed by Medusa's evil and came to fight me, you…"

"Yes, keep going. I what?" Pit asked, waiting for him to continue.

The dark angel pushed him off of him and grabbed his towel. The memories of his own dimension hurt too much, and now he could almost picture Pit's corrupted self and wanted to throw up. He felt sick, he had to get away before those images could settle in his mind. Thus, he stepped out of the hot spring, his back to the other angels, and put on his clothes again without a look behind. He didn't want to meet those blue eyes, that would turn black if he ever came in contact with the darkness. His own eyes had went from green to red in a snap, because he had spent two days in the Underworld trying to find that stupid cure… He hadn't even been corrupted, just slightly affected, but it had been consuming enough to change his entire attitude, his personality, his looks as well… He sniffed thinking about it. If Pit became like him, the dark angel would never, ever forgive himself. Whatever the cost, he… had to make sure that it would never happen—even if that meant that he had to stain his hands with his lighter half's blood.

Dark Pit started walking off, but eventually looked over his shoulder to eye at Pit. "You'd be dead the mere second I see you."

With that said, Dark Pit stormed out of the hot spring temple, leaving behind a dumbfounded Pit, who couldn't help but stare, mouth gaping, at where his twin had been standing when he had pronounced those heartless words.

* * *

 _To be continued…_


	26. Chapter 25: Refugee

_**Hello again my people! How are you all doing? Last time I was in a rush, so I didn't leave any message :( But now I do, because I love talking to you guys :) So, what do you think of Tip? You'll get to know him better in the future of this fiction, for now it's just first impression, but don't hesitate to give me your feedback on him! Here comes another one of Pit's versions.**_

 _ **You have surely noticed, but I'll only be using "Pittoo" to designate Dark Pit, since his other nicknames in other translations will be reserved for new versions of Pit and his dark twin :) I really didn't want to be making up names when Dark Pit has such a variety to offer! ;)**_

 _ **Anyways, I will not bother you any longer! Hopefully you like this new chapter, and don't hesitate to tell me in the comments!**_

 _ **PS: I may be shifting to a 'every-Sunday-or-so" routine when it comes to new chapters. I can't promise you much, because I'm actually running out of chapters since I haven't written anything in a week x) I hope you don't mind the different schedule I will be adopting from now on. It'll probably be every Saturday though, since Sundays are always busy days in my schedule. Just felt like leaving this here.**_

 _ **Yours truly, Circle of J.**_

* * *

 **/!\ Warning: Extremely mild gore elements /!\**

* * *

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, although I took some liberties with both Tip and our newcomer. The deities mentioned are taken from Greek Mythology, remastered the way I imagine them. What I own, on the other hand, is the plot.**

* * *

 **Kid Icarus: Heirs of the Light**

* * *

 _Chapter 25: Refugee_

* * *

Pit and Tip spent the next few days together, exchanging about the differences in their respective dimensions. They had paid Dark Pit no mind, since he himself had preferred to be on his own anyways, locked up in the library where he knew that the two angels wouldn't come to bother him. First, he had headed towards Pit's quarters and grabbed the necklace, to make sure that it would be under his supervision at all times. He had coiled it around his wrist, fastened the chain—the usual since he wasn't a girl and would never wear it around his neck. After that, he had reached the library and buried his nose in a book, but his blurry vision prevented him from understanding what was written on the pages. Although he had managed to figure out the plot, he still couldn't read the book without thinking about Pit.

It had been at least three days since they last talked; Dark Pit had even changed rooms and slept in the infirmary, for there was 'no other room available' according to Palutena. They hadn't seen each other at all: Dark Pit spent most of his time reading in the library and, once he was done with that at around two in the morning every night, he would head straight to the infirmary and lock its doors. The only person that he talked to was Palutena, whenever she was in the room when he passed by, or when she checked on him to make sure that he was feeling alright. She occasionally offered snacks along with a bottle of water, which he would never refuse. The Goddess of Light only came up to him around two times a day, and that was enough for him; Dark Pit needed to be alone.

Though, he had to admit that it was starting to weigh down on him; he missed his Pit and hated having to be so far away from him, while that other angel—Tip, he reminded himself—got to spend his time revolving around the Angel of the Sun. Dark Pit sighed and turned the page of the book he was reading, putting those thoughts aside but, once again, unsuccessful in doing so. Hadn't he been a little too harsh with Pit? A tad too honest for his own good? Could it be that his honesty really damaged their relationship past the point of no return? Weren't they supposed to always be true to the other?

Dark Pit sniffed, tears streaming down his cheeks. Should he have lied? Perhaps it would have been easier if he had. He wouldn't have hurt his precious Pit, and he wouldn't be doing everything to avoid him now… The dark angel turned the page of his book when a line caught his eyes: _"Sometimes, interpretation can be deceiving, for what hurts the most are not the words themselves, but the erroneous meaning that one can unconsciously put behind the words that they hear."_ He frowned, trying to uncover its meaning in his context, and shut the book. No… Could it be that Pit had thought he didn't care about him? Could it be that he had thought he didn't care about killing him?

Dark Pit clenched his fists in determination: he needed to talk to Pit right away, he had stalled long enough. He had to apologize, he needed to reassure him—even if he didn't mean a word of it, it really didn't matter in the slightest. Dark Pit put the book in its shelf, pondering, and startled when he felt a hand brush against his shoulder. He glanced over it and saw that it was Palutena, whom he admitted comforted him. No matter how much they had despised each other in the past, they had grown noticeably closer, and actually rather fond of each other's company over time. Mainly because the Goddess of Light wanted to know him better, as she had said the day they found out about the necklace. "Oh, it's you."

"It's me indeed, don't you worry," Palutena smiled softly and rubbed his shoulder in a comforting way. She wasn't blind: she had noticed that he was avoiding Pit, and that Pit was also staying away from him. She had no idea what had happened between them, but she knew that they shouldn't let it take over their relationship. For the sake of their mission to begin with; they needed to stick together. An 'alliance between light and darkness', according to what she had read in one of her books, shouldn't and couldn't be compromised by a simple altercation. They both had been through worse, hadn't they? Was it really worth wasting all of the efforts that they have put into succeeding in saving the Light?

The Goddess stepped closer and hugged Dark Pit from behind, wrapping her arms around his chest and pulling him closer. The dark angel's wings perked up but he didn't react, when he would normally push her away and yell at her face for touching him. The Goddess of Light didn't mention it, thinking that he wouldn't want her to point it out anyways, and smiled again to comfort him. He only avoided her eyes, which she expected, and sighed heavily. Palutena took advantage of that to start off the conversation: "I noticed that something was wrong, and I've been willing to talk to you. Do you think you can tell me what happened with my little Pit, Dark Pit?"

The dark angel gritted his teeth, disappointed in himself, and looked up at her with his flooded red eyes. "Please, don't hesitate to call me Pittoo, it makes me feel better… Pit and I, we talked about Medusa's darkness and how it corrupts the souls of those it affects… Pit, being the _idiotic_ optimist that he always is, thinks there's a way to save these possessed angels from the curse… I said no, because I know that there isn't, and then he asked what I would do if it were him. I let you figure out what I answered."

"You said that you would kill him for his own sake, I suppose?"

Dark Pit eyed at her for a second, nodded, and looked off. He was ashamed of his own words. Oh, of course he owned up to them, that wasn't the problem! He would definitely kill Pit the second he'd see him in that state. But, perhaps, it would have been wiser to keep it to himself. He had wanted to be transparent with Pit without realizing that it would hurt him to hear those words from his darker twin's mouth, and rightfully so since he trusted him so much. It must have felt as if he had been stabbed in the heart. Maybe, if Dark Pit had cared to explain why he was saying that, it would've been better, but since he hadn't bothered and had preferred to run away… It didn't make things easier for him now.

Dark Pit shut his eyes again, letting silent tears run along his cheeks, and gulped down his regrets. How was he supposed to talk to Pit after that heated conversation? His precious angel would never allow him to get close… In one sentence, he had broken everything that existed between them.

The dark angel pushed Palutena away from him, his heart aching badly. He needed to be alone for a while, and that was what he asked her. The Goddess of Light told him not to do anything stupid, to which he only snorted and shook his head. What did she think he would do, slit his wrist with the pages of a book? Not sharp enough, plus he didn't really want to see his blood on the ground. He liked it better when it kept his body standing.

Palutena walked out without insisting, and Dark Pit admitted that he felt slightly relieved. She reminded him too much of Pit, he didn't want anything to do with her. Even though he understood that she was concerned, he had to push her away. He watched her leave the library and sat back in his armchair, pulling another book from the bookshelf next to him and running his focused eyes along the lines. He did his best to concentrate on the plot and its characters, until it was too dark outside and he had to light up a candle. He chose a dark purple one, found a lighter to light it up, and put it by his side, on the armrest, before he finally went back to his reading.

Then, Palutena entered the library—certainly to make sure that he wasn't dead—and asked: "Would you like to join us for dinner? I prepared it myself and I'd love for you to try it!"

Dark Pit eyed at her, his rubies expressive enough to tell her to quickly run off and leave him alone. Despite that, he still felt the need to add: "Fuck right off!" before he dived back into the novel he had picked. Palutena didn't insist and walked off, shrugging her shoulder. Although it made her sad to be so powerless regarding the dark angel's sadness, she couldn't force him to eat if he didn't want to. Dark Pit sighed when she closed the door behind her, his eyes still running along the lines of his novel. The characters were not that interesting, he had to admit: none of them had a strong personality like his own, but the story was still sort of fun and compelling. So, despite disliking the characters, he kept on reading, wanting to know if they would get rid of that cursed ring before it was too late and the monster 'Gollum' could snatch it from them.

In the middle of his reading, he had to stop and look around, since he had picked up the sound of movement in the library. "Someone there?" he inquired, squinting his eyes. There seemed to be a presence, he could feel it… Although, he could've sworn that nobody else was there, and the door hadn't opened since Palutena had walked off. Shrugging it off, since it was probably his tired mind pulling tricks on him, he started reading again, only to hear the swift, agile footsteps again seconds later. This time, they had been even closer to his position, which he particularly hated.

"Seriously, what in the Underworld is the problem? Is that you, Pit? If so, it'd be good if we could talk for a minute…" Dark Pit raised his head when he heard the footsteps again, but no voiced answer. Nope, that definitely wasn't his Pit. He clicked his tongue, pissed off; couldn't he be left alone for a day without being interrupted? He shook his head and closed his book, leaving it on the armchair while he took a look around. He forgot his candle on the armrest, and checked every row of bookshelves to make sure that nobody was hiding in the shadows, but there wasn't anyone around.

Dark Pit gritted his teeth and placed his hands on his hips, looking from left to right once he had reached the bottom of a row. Who thought that this was funny? He tapped his foot on the ground, waiting eagerly for footsteps in order to catch the creep. This time however, the footsteps came from right behind him. "Pit, it's n—"

He was brutally interrupted by a strong hit in the head, perpetrated with an awfully heavy book.

* * *

.oOo.

* * *

Pit chuckled when he thought about his incredible day, even though the pain in his heart still lingered. Tip was such fun company compared to Dark Pit: he always joked around, told him countless fascinating stories about his dimension and its Gods and Goddesses, and proposed entertaining activities.

During the afternoon, they had played Truth or Dare, which had proved itself to be one of the funniest games Pit had ever played, but Tip had also invited Palutena in order to play a game that he called 'Spin the Bow'. Basically, they had put Tip's bow in the middle and sat around it, and they had to make it spin until it pointed at someone. That person had to answer a question or perform an embarrassing action—much like Truth or Dare, although it was funnier. Palutena had asked Pit to say that he was an idiot twenty times, which made him die of awkwardness in front of Tip's amused eyes. Tip had then spun the bow and it had pointed towards himself, which had caused him to pout. Pit had dared him to kiss Palutena on the cheek, and Tip had done it without flinching. Pit had to admit that he had been rather jealous, that until the bow stopped on Palutena and Tip asked her to kiss Pit on the mouth. The Goddess of Light had first laughed out loud, asking if this was serious, and had owned up to it: she had leaned towards Pit and sealed their lips in a passionate, deep and hungry kiss—since Tip had said that a small kiss would've been cheating, he wanted a _real_ kiss, with tongues and stuff, so that's what she resolved to do.

Although it had admittedly been the most embarrassing thing that had ever happened in his lifetime, Pit had to say that, once upon a time, he had wished to get kisses like that from Palutena. Before he had started to consider her as a mother figure, he had hoped that they would be something. Palutena had immediately set a barrier between them, treating him like a child, and in the end he had to admit that he liked it better that way.

The light angel's wings perked up when Tip called him out, in the gardens despite the darkness outside. Palutena had told them to refrain from being in the open during the night… That was when darkness dominated, and she said that it could quickly turn them into Medusa's puppets. But despite knowing all of this, Pit sprung to his feet and ran outside to meet Tip on the bench that Dark Pit and him used to like so much. Used to, because Pit didn't want to think about his darker version at the moment. After what he had said, he didn't know how he felt about him anymore. He was cruel and heartless, how could he love him? No, he couldn't, he incarnated everything that Pit hated; he was even ready to kill the ones he loved instead of trying to save them! That was sick and twisted, and Pit couldn't allow that. He gritted his teeth and teared up thinking about Dark Pit; he couldn't allow him to come back into his life without clear explanations on the matter. Anyways, Dark Pit had said that he would kill him if he had succumbed, wasn't that right? Then, it surely wouldn't make such a big difference to him whether they talked or not.

Pit sat down next to Tip, who was sitting down with an open book on his lap. He was checking different pages, each of them bearing strange markings that resembled those on Dark Pit's books. _Letters_ , Pit presumed with a slight shrug. It was with those strange signs that his dark version could tell him stories, and he had been willing to know about them for a good while. However, he wasn't sure if he was in the mood for that… Although he didn't complain, he didn't think any less. Absent-minded, Pit eyed at the first page, depicting the letter he was met with: it looked like one of those bridges on the Overworld, those that crossed over large waterways to link two islands. It had two legs joining up at the top and a line in the middle. Pit frowned and stared at it. "What's that, Tip? Does it have a name?"

The blond angel looked up and felt himself blush when his eyes met those of Pit: they were sparkling with the thousands of stars above their heads, and he was so close to his face. Tip would've kissed him right away if he didn't shake his head and draw back a little. He glanced at the book in his hands and nodded. "Yes, all letters have a name. I'm sure you know most of them, you just don't know what they look like! That's 'A', the first letter of the English alphabet."

"So what you're saying is that there are multiple alphabets?" Pit asked, curious. Could it be that those weird symbols were not universal? How was he supposed to learn _all_ the symbols that existed?! If he wanted to truly know how to read, he needed all of them, right?

Dark Pit knew all of them, didn't he? Well, that wouldn't be surprising: he was very smart, after all, which was probably why he didn't think killing people was wrong and sick and twisted. Smart leaders were always dangerous, that was what Palutena had told him. He had seen that for himself with Hades… Perhaps Hades and Dark Pit were not as different as he had believed them to be. After all, Dark Pit was 'fundamentally wicked', wasn't he? That was what Palutena had said about him after he had erupted from the Mirror of Truth. Although at the time they still thought that he had been created, it still applied to this day.

Tip brought his attention back to the book when he flipped the page. Pit's eyes were met with another one of those symbols, which looked like… two bubbles struck together. "That one is 'B', it's the second letter of the alphabet," Tip informed him, then he turned away from the book to grab a pencil and a notebook. He handed them both to Pit, smiling wide. The Angel of the Sun furrowed his brows but took them; what was the point of giving him a coloring book? They were trying to learn the letters… The blond angel looked back at the book and turned to the first page, where Pit saw the first letter he had learnt to identify. "Maybe you should try to draw it. That would help you to recognize it every time you see it, and that way you'd also be learning how to write!"

"That's an amazing idea!" Pit beamed, and he started immediately. He set the notebook on his lap and eyed at the book next to him, trying his best to draw the letter perfectly. He had never been that good of an artist, but he could still manage.

Tip decided that he needed to concentrate and, thus, walked back to the palace to meet Palutena. Perhaps she would find something for him to do, because he really wanted to help her out!

* * *

.oOo.

* * *

Tip held onto several piles of books, which Palutena had told him to put back in their respective shelves in the library. He smiled to himself; he really liked this version of the Goddess of Light, she was nice and sweet. And she hadn't yet succumbed to darkness, so… that was that. The angel pushed his red scarf which stuck to his mouth and was about to open the door to the library, when he heard something mumbling inside. He had almost forgotten that Dark Pit was there… Was it wise to walk in? Or would he lash out at him and kill him on the spot?

Frightened, Tip stopped in his tracks, looking at the closed door, and hesitated to walk in. But he really needed to get those books back in their original place… Dark Pit would understand, right? He had to, he wasn't a savage. Pulling himself together and harvesting as much courage as he could, Tip approached the door, grabbed the handle, and winced at the crushing sound of a bookshelf falling over, followed by a muffled cry of pain. Although it had been rather loud, he hadn't heard it, since the bang had been enough to temporarily deafen the blond angel, who closed his eyes and tried to soothe his headache. Just what was Dark Pit doing in there, wrecking everything? For some reason, that wouldn't surprise Zeus' messenger…

After he had shaken off his headache, Tip pulled the handle and stepped inside, where he saw nothing special at all. There was an armchair with a book on it, abandoned, dimly lit by the fire of a purple candle which was half-melted. He didn't focus on it and walked through the wide room, when he found the origin of the sound: a bookshelf had fallen over, as though it had been brutally pushed against another one behind it before losing its balance. Tip walked up to the scene, perplexed, and heard swift footsteps behind him. He quickly spun around, regretting the fact that he had no weapon already, and gasped when he saw Dark Pit lying on the ground, with a glowing purple stone around his right wrist. He was unconscious, laying on his side, and his hair completely covered his face—it appeared to be pretty sticky for some reason. What had happened to him, what was he doing on the ground? The blond angel could have sworn that he wasn't there before…

Nonetheless, Tip ran in his direction and knelt down by his side, grasping his hand and tearing up because of how cold it was getting. He was dead, wasn't he? What had killed him? Had he been crushed by that bookshelf? Oh no… Tip glanced at him with growing worry in his gray eyes: his silky black bangs hid his strangely pale face, and there was a pool of blood under his lifeless form. Though, Tip had no idea where it came from: in the somberness, he couldn't tell where he had been wounded. Tip brought his hand to Dark Pit's face and pushed the hair off of his eyes, only to realize that they were firmly closed. "Oh no… Please, no, wake up!" he begged, horrified, then he placed his hands over his own mouth to muffle his sobs.

Taken aback by the death of the dark angel, he didn't pay attention to the footsteps sneaking behind his back. Soon, he felt something looming over him and spun around, quick enough to evade an attack perpetrated by a shadow angel. The figure tried to tug his arm but Tip fought it back with all he had, shifting between kicks and punches while he was considering his options. He managed to stand up and ran out of the library, slamming the door open and bumping into Palutena. The blond angel bounced off and fell to the ground, disoriented.

The Goddess of Light frowned when the shadow approached: it was, indeed, one of those dark angels, just like she had felt. This one had a bottle green chiton, a scarf slightly lighter, and deep wings of the same tint as his clothes. He had dark hair, unnatural red glowing eyes, and an evil smirk across the lips. His soul transpired with mischievous energy, which was enough to tell that he was under the influence of Medusa's darkness. But she had to say that it was… slightly weaker than she would've thought.

On the lookout, the Goddess of Light held out her staff, turning on the lights of the library, and the dark angel startled. However, instead of hiding like a dark creature would've, he placed his hands on his hips and snickered at the sight of Tip at the feet of Palutena. "Aw, need a hand there~?"

Tip shivered when the evil angel's voice rang in his eardrums: it sounded like a crow's croak. So aggressive, so mocking, so disdainful… He loathed it as soon as he heard it. The blond angel stood back on his feet and eyed at the Goddess of Light, who nodded and held out a hand. Tip's bow appeared in it, which brought a smile to Zeus' angel. He thanked her and was about to take it when the green angel snatched it from Palutena's grasp. He laughed at the sight of it; quite a ridiculous weapon compared to his own. That other angel had had the same one, or one very similar at least. He had had no trouble defeating him until he dropped dead to the ground, and he would not hesitate to take that other angel down as well. He was lustful for blood anyways~…

The green angel eyed at his enemies and threw the useless bow behind, instead taking out a laser gun which looked like an emerald dragon head with a cannon in its mouth.

Tip furrowed his brows and slid on the ground, past the green angel, in order to grab his bow. Palutena's staff started shining threateningly, but that did nothing to scare off their opponent. He stood his ground and aimed the gun at Palutena, but she swung her staff at him, which forced him to move back. "Playing hard to get, Goddess of Light~?"

Palutena narrowed her eyes and deflected an attack that was coming straight for her with her Reflect move. "What are you doing in my kingdom, cursed angel?"

"Your ridiculously underpowered _barriers_ aren't too difficult to pierce through," he replied, snickering. The green angel gritted his teeth and focused his attention on defeating her, not minding the worthless blond angel who was shooting him from behind. That was, until a fully charged arrow passed through his right wing and left a bleeding hole in it. The angel in green cried out at the pain and changed his focus: that angel was going to pay for what he had done. He charged towards Tip and shot him in the chest with an extremely powerful emerald laser beam.

Palutena screamed for him to watch out, but it was too late: Tip was hit and flew through several bookshelves. But despite how impressive the action had been, he wasn't wounded—of course he wasn't. Tip stood back on his feet and grasped his bow tightly; he'd never give up against a spirit of darkness, no matter how long the fight would take and how many bookshelves he'd have to break. His body was immune to physical damage, so he didn't care taking hits.

The Goddess of Light took her revenge and aimed her Auto Reticle at the green angel, who still managed to avoid each and every energy orb coming for him. He had also drawn significantly closer to her and took advantage of his position, sending her flying across the room with an equally powerful laser beam. While Palutena was recovering—her body wasn't gifted with invincibility—Tip ran towards their offender, evading shots aimed at him, and separated his bow into his usual blades. He had always been better with swords anyways. Tip slashed his way through the beams and eventually reached the dark green angel, who took the decision to fly backwards so that he wasn't torn to shreds. His wings flapped, allowing him to take flight, and he moved away from Tip. He stationed in the air, shooting at the flightless blond angel beneath him, thus ensuring that he couldn't be sliced in die. Tip was quick on his feet, jumping from side to side in order to constantly avoid being hit, and that started to get on the green angel's nerves. He charged a shot, trying to foresee where his opponent would end up, and shot him right when Tip's feet touched the ground.

The blond angel was thrown back because of the strength of the laser beam in his chest, and the dark angel smirked, before he screamed in terror when a halo of light surrounded his wings, depriving him from his Power of Flight. The halo of light expanded to his entire body, which caused him to cry out and grasp his own head between his hands. His soul kept fighting the influence of the darkness in his veins and, for once, managed to pull it out of his body. The light consumed it whole within seconds, and the dark angel fell to the floor, head first in the armchair beneath.

He moaned in deep, overwhelming pain while rubbing his forehead: he felt as though his brain was about to explode. He fluttered his green eyes open, not fully grasping the situation, and looked around, confused, before scratching his head. "Mistress Viridi?" he called her out, yearning for his Goddess that he had lost after he was captured by Medusa. Where even was he? It appeared to be a library, however it was incredibly messy, as though someone had just been fighting in it. Dozens of books littered the ground, and the purple candle next to him had stopped burning, with its hot, liquid wax dripping on the tiles. He didn't recognize the place at all. Since when did Viridi have a library in her Sanctum? He had to be in one of those human cities that she loved so much… But why though? And how did he get there? "Mistress Viridi, are you there? I… miss you…"

Before he had time to give it a thought, he heard heavy, high-heeled footsteps coming his way. When he turned around, he was surprised to find a woman with long, green hair and a scepter in her hands. Speaking of that scepter, she stood before him and slammed it against the floor. "No one can hide from the Light, not even Medusa I see," she said, squinting her glistening green eyes at him. The angel held his breath and closed his eyes; was she a witch? He had heard about their race, their powers were beyond that of Gods sometimes, according to Viridi. If she was about to kill him, he had no way of defending himself… not even with his laser gun. Against all odds, the woman offered him a hand to help him up. However, he was too intimidated to grasp it and drew back instinctively. That made her laugh, sending cold chills down the lost angel's spine. "You're the shy type, aren't you? That's alright. My name is Palutena, I am the Goddess of Light. I suppose you just came back to your senses, so welcome to Skyworld!" she introduced herself, stepping away so that he could stand up.

The angel, wearing a green attire—but much more lime green than bottle green—slowly rose to his feet, keeping his arms close to his chest. He had to be prepared in case this… 'Goddess' would attack him—he was convinced that she was a witch. After all, he had never heard of a Palutena in his life before, so she couldn't be a Goddess… What even was Skyworld, was it her lair? So she was intending to kill him… But why would she be so nice with him then? Where exactly did he end up and who was she?! The green angel scanned his surroundings and saw another angel, looking a lot like him, stand up in the distance. It seemed like he just came out of a battle, although there wasn't even a scratch on his body. He had to be quite powerful if his enemies never placed a hit on him… The woman behind him walked closer, scaring him a little, and put a hand on his shoulder, whereas the other angel with a red scarf was wiping off some dust from his pure white chiton. "What is this?" the green angel dared to ask, confused, frightened, and most definitely lost. "Where is Mistress Viridi?"

The Goddess of Light smiled gently and took his hand to reassure him. There was something highly comforting in the way that she looked at him, and he didn't know why but he felt that he could trust her. Maybe she was the mistress of that other angel? That would mean that she really was a Goddess, since witches didn't have angels to work for them… That could explain why he wasn't so scared of her anymore: the other angel seemed to be in perfect health, even though he probably had just been fighting. Palutena eyed at Tip and back at the reserved green version of her Pit. "I will surely be the one breaking the news to you, but you are not in your own world anymore. Medusa has taken control of your body and wanted you to kill this angel, but somehow I managed to repel her with my staff—I really don't understand why, but I won't spit on it! Can I get to know your name?"

The green angel eyed at her and slightly nodded, still ill-at-ease. "My name is Blapi…"

"Now if that isn't the most adorable thing I've ever heard~!" Palutena chuckled, then she led Blapi out of the room. Tip, on the other hand, quickly followed them and grabbed her by the arm.

Inquisitive, she looked at him with frowned brows, when she suddenly noticed a figure in the distance, lying motionlessly on the ground. Her heart immediately sank and she ran to assist him, not knowing that he was nearly dead already. She fell to her knees and grasped Dark Pit's hand, trying to shake him up. Seeing that it was pointless, she brought him up to her chest in order to lift him up, when she felt something wet on her dress. But she wasn't stupid, she already knew it was blood, thus she hurried to the hot spring in her private quarters and laid the unconscious angel in the bath. Blapi didn't dare to follow, staying next to the doorway, while Tip was kneeling down at Dark Pit's side. He had grown increasingly worried, and needed to hold on to the dark angel's hand, for his own sake more than anything.

Blapi looked at them from the doorway, intimidated by the dark teal feathers in the angel's back. "Is he a bad guy?" he asked Palutena, thinking that, since she was a Goddess, she would know everything.

He was not disappointed when she looked at him and answered: "No, he's on our side. He won't harm you, even less when he's on the brink of death… At least he has been smart enough to put on the necklace: it's the only thing keeping him alive. He'd be dead if he didn't wear it, so don't touch it, Tip."

Tip looked up at her with tearful eyes and let go of the necklace, which had somehow caught his attention. He kept squeezing Dark Pit's hand, trying to breathe life into him through the simple touch of their skin. He couldn't accept to lose him, he was far too precious to Pit's mission, to their _common_ mission. They had to work through it together, all of them. Dark Pit was too important, too essential—'the alliance between light and darkness'! He was the 'darkness' part, he couldn't let go before they had overthrown Medusa's evil, because then who would? Pit and his darker version had been chosen by their Gods—whoever Dark Pit's God was, since he had never mentioned them—to carry this mission and accomplish it. They were the two _Heirs of the Light_ , they couldn't let go of each other; it was their destiny. Tip would make sure that they would succeed, he'd be there to hold their hands and help them through the darkness. But for that, Dark Pit needed not to die, not right now, it was too early.

"D. P., you know I can't let you die… Wake up." Tip shook Dark Pit's hand vigorously when he felt it becoming slightly warmer. At least he was holding on… But how long, that was the real question. The blond angel glanced over to Palutena, who had decided that she would protect Blapi and himself in a room that she'd have under constant supervision. After all, she had to ensure that Medusa would not get her hands on them, otherwise they would be at her mercy and that was the last thing that they all needed.

Palutena took Blapi by the hand and led him to the said room, which was right next to that of Pit. She explained that she had chosen that room because, then, her two heroes would be able to take out the intruders quicker, even if they attacked during the night. She appeared to have a lot of faith in her two 'heroes', whoever they were. Blapi had understood that the angel with dark greenish-blue wings was one of them, but he hadn't met the other yet… Or maybe it was that angel, Tip? Probably not… He couldn't help but wonder where that mysterious angel had been when Tip had to fight whatever had been after him—if he was a hero, he should've been there to help him, right? What kind of hero lets his friends down when facing a threat, however strong it may be?

Blapi walked into the hidden room, which was furnished with everything he could need: two beds, since there was also one for Tip, a window to look outside—even though it wasn't possible to open it—and a hot spring in the bathroom. He didn't know what good they were, but he'd like to take a bath in one someday, just for the sake of trying everything that this 'world' had to offer. That way, he could tell Viridi where he had been and all that he had discovered on the way; she'd be proud of him and, maybe, she'd accept to go out with him. He had been waiting long enough… "Don't hesitate to call me if you need anything, Blapi," Palutena told him, and he startled when he heard the sound of her voice.

Blapi quickly nodded and went to sit on the bed that was the closest to the window. He gazed out at the scenery, but deplored the landscape: so few natural elements… Apart from the gardens that he could perceive on the far right, there was no real natural isle at all. Buildings stood tall everywhere, whether it be training camps, with targets laid out in the grass for shooting sessions, or simply temples of all sorts. But after all, he wasn't at Viridi's Sanctum anymore. Viridi had several gardens since she was the Great Goddess of Nature, but he was staying over at the Goddess of Light's palace, so… Perhaps he shouldn't be expecting as much.

.oOo.

The Goddess of Light walked around the Main Hall, comforted by the fact that Blapi was under protection. At least he wouldn't be attacked, nothing bad would happen to this sweet little thing. He really was the sweetes—

"Hello, Lady Palutena!"

Palutena looked up upon hearing her name and gasped when she saw Pit standing in front of her. "O-Oh! H-Hello Pit!" she reacted, her heart pounding in her chest. Her captain grinned widely and had a joyful expression in his eyes, then he held out a notebook, where she could see that he had written twenty times the letter 'A'—it literally scattered the first page. She tried her best to smile, despite knowing that he wasn't aware of Dark Pit's critical state. "Oh, that's great… I'm proud of you, Pit."

Pit smiled and looked at the page with glistening eyes. "I always told you I would make you proud! I'm learning how to read thanks to Tip, he proposed to help me! One day, I'll be the greatest reader of all time, Lady Palutena!"

The Goddess of Light laughed at that. "Oh, I don't doubt it, Pit!"

The angel of light turned around, about to walk off with his notebook and keep things going with the 'B' letter. He was so enthusiastic! He never knew that reading and writing could be so time-consuming to learn, but in the end, he was starting to love it. He saluted his Goddess and stepped away from her, grinning, but his smile suddenly fell when he met Tip's flooded eyes. "Tip? What's wrong?" he asked, concerned, and he walked up to his friend.

Tip sniffed and wiped his face with his hands. "I had to flee, I can't handle it…"

"Handle what?" Pit and his Goddess, who had joined them as soon as she had seen Tip's drowned face, inquired at the same time. Both of them furrowed their brows to express their confusion, and Pit took his blond counterpart in a warm, comforting hug, while patting him on the back to give him the support that he needed. He didn't know why Tip was so worried, but the fact that he had never seen his friend like this was concerning on its own. "Tip, tell me, handle what?"

"Pit, it's…" Tip closed his eyes, remembering those of pure rubies that had looked into his gray orbs, and sobbed harder. He had been so weak… Tip had hated the sight of such powerlessness in Dark Pit's eyes, he was so strong-willed, had such a bad temper… He was a strong character, and yet his eyes had transmitted nothing more than regret and shame… Instead of telling him where he was and why he was there, Tip had felt so overwhelmed that he had run away crying. He particularly loathed the fact that the dark angel's voice had been so hoarse when he had called him out… He couldn't bare to see his friends in such pitiful states, it wrecked him from within. He himself had never been harmed, which was why he couldn't take it to see his friends going through pain. He sniffed and pushed Pit away for a second, in order to rub his eyes.

However, the Angel of the Sun still held on to his shoulders, so that he wouldn't look away from him. Tip's eyes fluttered open, his vision blurred out by the tears flowing down his face, and looked back into Pit's. "It breaks my heart to see Dark Pit like that… He was so, so weak, Pit… What hurts is that, I'll never understand what he's going through… It's killing me, Pit…"

"What happened to Pittoo?!" Pit's eyes sparkled with worry and, seeing that he would get no clear answer, he quickly let go of Tip and ran off towards Palutena's quarters, where he suspected that his darker version would be if he was heavily wounded. He was proved right when he walked in and met the broken red eyes of Dark Pit, who was attempting to get up but was prevented from doing so by the gaping, blood-gushing wound in his stomach. "Pittoo?!" the angel of light gasped in horror, and he ran up to his side, sitting on the ground next to the hot spring bath. He didn't waste any time and grasped his darker version's hand, using the other to brush Dark Pit's bangs away from his face. He couldn't repress the will to come back at him for what he had said, although the situation was dramatic. After all, Dark Pit didn't deserve better; he hadn't cared about how much it had hurt him when he pronounced those cruel words in the hot spring earlier on. "What is it, Pittoo? Have you been corrupted by Medusa's evil? Oh, I'm afraid there's no cure, let me end your life now."

"Pit, don't start this, you better not…" the dark angel warned him, despite the weakness of his voice. His red eyes lit with danger as he stared into those of blue of his twin. He would have to explain the reasons behind his words, but not right now; he was way too sleepy for that, he felt as though he was about to fall back into an eternal slumber. He tried to remember how he had gotten his wound when he noticed Palutena coming in.

The Goddess of Light stepped closer, fidgeting with her hands. "How do you feel, Dark Pit?"

"Terrible, I must say," he answered honestly, images running through his eyes. He could see the face of his enemy, a green angel with deep red eyes, just like his own. That thing hadn't fully been corrupted, but it had been enough to drive it insane. He felt the beam pierce through his flesh again and cringed at the memory of the tremendous pain roaring in his body. Dark Pit gulped—and silently cursed himself for doing so, since his throat was so dry—and whispered: "I can't believe I've lost."

"Which is what worries me," Palutena said, looking at her two perplexed angels in all seriousness. "If _Pittoo_ , of all angels, loses a fight, then it's a very bad sign. He's by far the best fighter amongst all of you, Pit. If he is so easily defeated by a single _one_ of these possessed angels—"

"That one wasn't possessed, I felt it," Dark Pit countered. "Sure, you could say that he was _badly_ affected by Medusa's powers, but he was not yet possessed. To be true with you, I don't think he was much more affected than I am…"

Pit gasped. "You're affected by Medusa's darkness, Pittoo?!"

"So what, you're gonna kill me now, Pit-stain~?" Dark Pit replied in a challenging way despite his condition. He rolled eyes and cursed himself for talking about it in the first place; he knew that he shouldn't let Pit know of his _intoxication_ —if he could even call it that. Pit would worry about him, and they didn't have time to mind his old wounds. He was not succumbing, at least, that was what mattered the most; he'd never give up to Medusa's powers, even though they were flowing freely in his veins at that very moment and fighting for control with his soul. Whatever it'd take, he would make sure to beat her ass before he could become her personal sexual puppet—because he knew very well that it was what she wanted.

Dark Pit sighed and facepalmed when he saw Pit's concerned eyes locked on him. He was tired of that conversation already, even though he hadn't even begun to explain. That'd be a fun ride… For the time being though, they had to focus on the subject at hand. "Putting that aside… Palutena, I know for certain that this thing wasn't possessed: it was still talking. Corrupted spirits are deprived from speech."

"Well… That makes it even worse, now doesn't it?"

"Can't deny that… If this thing can kick my ass, then I'd rather not imagine what a fully corrupted asshole could do to me."

Palutena nodded, thinking, and paced back and forth in the room. Pit eyed at her before focusing his attention on Dark Pit; he was a little upset that he hadn't told him about that. He deserved to know that his darker twin was being eaten by Medusa's powers! What if they got a hold on him? What would he do? Well, that question had a short answer: he would kill him, since that was what Dark Pit had said he would do to _him_ if such a thing happened.

The Goddess of Light brought the attention to herself when she started to speak again, sounding a lot more concerned than she previously was: "Indeed, Pittoo, and you're just worried over _one_ fully possessed angel… I really don't want to imagine the consequences when you'll both have to fight _all of them_ at once…"

"Because _that_ 's supposed to happen?"

Pit laughed humorlessly and eyed at Dark Pit, trying to play it off as though it didn't even scare him. "No no no! I'm sure we won't have to!" Then he turned towards Palutena, who kept a serious expression. "Right, Lady Palutena?" he asked, more fearful this time. The Goddess of Light stared at him with something akin to apologies, and the light angel instantly understood what this all meant. He gulped and shut his eyes; he couldn't believe it, did she not realize how dangerous that was? They would never survive, they would die! Was she willing to kill them off?! Pit glanced back at his Goddess and seemed truly frightened when he said, groaning: "That silence means that we're doing that, I get it."

"Before we do that, I have to send you to the Underworld somehow…" Palutena said, bringing her hand to her chin to think. Dark Pit was about to protest, to say that he would never head towards that place again without a clear, well-defined purpose, but she interrupted him by pursuing her reasoning: "But the problem is that I can't keep you both flying at the same time. And we all know that Dark Pit won't let you go alone."

"First things first: I won't go _at all_ , so that shouldn't be too big of a problem. I'm not going there ever again."

Palutena looked at Dark Pit with a glare that made him shut his mouth almost instantly. Pit, on the other hand, scratched the back of his head and slightly laughed to express her nervosity. "Hehe, for a second there, I hoped you'd say that _you_ wouldn't let me go there alone, Lady Palutena… Hehe, silly meeee~…"

The Goddess of Light didn't pay attention to her captain's complaints, instead she was busy seeking a solution to the Power of Flight problem. On her own, there was no way that she could lend them both the Power of Flight at the same time, she was absolutely convinced of that. It was too consuming, she wouldn't be able to keep them both in the air for five minutes… That being said, perhaps she could ask a God for help? Maybe Zeus would accept to help her out, since the entire Universe was threatened by those dark angels? It was worth trying, at least. If he refused, they could always get Aphrodite to help them, since she had been leading the two angels until she had been brought back to life.

The Goddess of Light knew that she wouldn't refuse, but what she didn't know was how trustworthy her own Power of Flight was. Actually, she wasn't even sure that she had one… She would have several questions to ask her. That gave her an idea: maybe she shouldn't be the one asking her these questions. There was _someone_ that, perhaps, she'd be more willing to help: her 'son'. Palutena looked at Dark Pit with a smirk in the corner of her lips. "Will you feel better tomorrow morning, Pittoo?" she inquired, narrowing his eyes at him.

The dark angel shrugged his shoulders. "If I sleep in here, yeah, maybe. Why?"

"You'll have to pay a courtesy call to a 'family member', if you see who I'm talking about."

Dark Pit smiled, since he had deciphered the message behind her words pretty easily. He nodded and laid back in the hot spring water, feeling the soreness in his body fade away, as if it had never existed to begin with. Pit remained by his side, silent once his precious Palutena was out of the room, and eventually eyed at him to talk.

Dark Pit put a hand over his mouth to shut him up, and cleared his throat. "There's something I've been willing to tell you," he started, his voice stern and collected.

 _Explanation time._

* * *

 _To be continued…_


	27. Chapter 26: Transparency issues

_**Hello my people! As I have said, I will upload a new chapter every Saturday, because it's easier for me. I hope you guys don't mind. That brings a sort of schedule for my writing, and having a deadline can really push me to do better—as strange and paradoxical as it sounds. I work better under certain circumstances ;)**_

 _ **Anyways, I'll let you read this chapter! I must say that it is not my favorite—I don't really like it that much—but it has to be there for backstory purposes (you know, the cliché part where a character develops their troubled past? That's kind of what that is!). The next chapters promise way more fun though, since there's no backstory involved (yay)! :D**_

 _ **I'm also hesitating to bring in a lover for Palutena. Maybe at some point. I'll see if I do it or not—because referencing one of my other works is a bit tricky at times, since nobody has read the original piece for now.**_

 _ **Anyhow, hoping you'll have a nice reading!**_

 _ **Yours truly, Circle of J.**_

* * *

 **Disclaimer:** **I do not own the characters, although I took some liberties with both Tip and Blapi. The deities mentioned are taken from Greek Mythology, remastered the way I imagine them. What I own, on the other hand, is the plot.**

* * *

 **Kid Icarus: Heirs of the Light**

* * *

 _Chapter 26: Transparency issues_

* * *

 _Dark Pit looked over to the shore, on the other side of the pond. He held his trusty Silver Bow in his right hand, and his blue eyes zoomed across the place, since it was accordingly flooded with Underworld troops. Although he couldn't see them just yet, he knew that it didn't mean they didn't exist._

 _The angel ran his fingers through his dark hair and sighed in exhaustion: that day had been a long day. Fighting off Medusa's troops was harder than it looked… He was fortunate that Hermes was always by his side when he went against those monsters. Aside from being ugly, they were also quite violent towards anyone who walked along their path. Some humans had been their victims, from what Hermes had told him, and now Dark Pit ought to supervise that pond, under which an ancient interdimensional portal was buried. Hermes had claimed that he saw humans hanging around, but had also warned him that Medusa's troops were on their way to get to him. But the angel didn't fear them, why would he? He was admittedly the best fighter that their world had ever known to hold. Medusa could do everything, she'd never manage to get a hold on him._

 _Dark Pit startled when he noticed movement behind the high trees of the pine forest, lowering down to his knees to make sure that the intruder would not see him standing there. With his blue chiton, he was almost invisible when he neared water. He had to say that, in missions like this one, it was very practical. At first, Hermes had told him to change his chiton into a new one, gray-colored with a yellow scarf, however the angel had refused. His clothes needed to fit his wings, it was only natural. Since his feathers were ocean blue, his scarf couldn't be yellow, that wouldn't fit. Plus, yellow had always been a color that he despised._

 _Dark Pit frowned when the unfamiliar figure approached, staying in his position, hidden by the high grass surrounding him. The only thing that the intruder could've seen would've been his wings, but since he was near water, they were undistinguishable. He looked down at the ground when the silhouette made its way to the pond, and listened closely in case they would talk. And that they did, much to his delight: "So this is Hermes' infamous portal."_

 _"Yes," another voice answered, even though Dark Pit had only seen one person approaching. The situation was getting out of hand. The first voice that had arose was feminine, almost sensual in the way it sounded like a song. The other one was also a woman, but she had a deeper, firmier voice that sent cold shivers down the angel's spine and feathers alike. That second person spoke up, after there was movement in the grass on the other side of the shore, as if someone had walked up to the pond, next to that other woman. "It has caused many catastrophies, many casualties in the Gods Era. Exchanges between dimensions were quite frequent at the time, however they had to be stopped completely after the incident—which you know about, sweetie~…"_

 _Dark Pit looked up, staying cautious nonetheless, and saw the two women standing there, a few feet away from his position. He had no idea what they were intending to do with the portal, but whatever it was he couldn't let them use it. Hermes had forbidden that it ever be opened again, for it was too dangerous for their world. It could bring threats from other worlds, thus worsening the situation of their already falling apart realm. Medusa was growing stronger with each passing day, they couldn't afford to take such inconsiderate risks. Dark Pit stayed low, staring at the two women who wore long dresses that outlined their gracious bodies, and grunted under his breath. If they dared to try and trigger the portal, he would have to jump out and blow his cover. But it was for common good._

 _The first woman who had walked up to the pond, who stood on the right, squatted down and ran her fingers through the water. She hissed at its coldness, but kept her hand dipped in it, searching for a way to bring the portal up, so that they wouldn't have to go underwater to open it. She knew that it was time; they couldn't bare the weight of Medusa's darkness any longer. And she knew that he was here: the Heir, their savior, he was lurking around somewhere, even though she couldn't see him. From what she had heard, he was a sneaky little thing, so she didn't blame herself for being so oblivious. The woman next to her sat down, taking her head between her hands and crossing her legs. "I really don't know if this is going to work, Aphrodite. Is it really the only way?"_

 _"You know it is, Artemis," the Goddess of Love whispered, ensuring that their little spy wouldn't be able to hear their conversation. That way, he would have to come out of his hiding spot and walk up to them, in which case they could talk calmly about his mission. Aphrodite seemed to find what she had been looking for and pulled a lever that was hidden from sight by vines. The ground started to shake, thus revealing that she had succeeded, and a familiar shadow sprung to his feet, standing on the opposite end of the pond. He had his bow aimed at them, and his purple eyes bore nothing but aggressiveness._

 _Aphrodite raised her hands in the air, surrendering, but that didn't seem convincing enough for the angel to lower his weapon. A purple arrow was summoned out of thin air, sparkling like a literal thunder bolt, and it lit up Dark Pit's face. For a second, the Goddess of Love thought that he had been corrupted, but then she noticed the amethyst color of his eyes. They would've been black if he had been possessed by Medusa's evil powers, so Aphrodite assumed that the lightning arrow was just his normal weaponry. Artemis jumped to her feet, scared by the apparition, but the Goddess next to her seemed rather collected. "Well, if it isn't Hermes' prodigy."_

 _Dark Pit squinted his eyes at her, holding onto his bow with a tight grip. "Who the fuck are you?"_

 _The Goddess stood there, not even scared by his menacing posture, and smiled: "I am the Goddess of Love, Aphrodite. And this is Artemis, the Goddess of Hunting and, secondarily, of the Moon." She turned to face her friend, who had dark hair which fell over her right eye. She appeared to be the emo type. Her only visible eye was glowing, like the moon itself, since it was pure white. Dark Pit shuddered, since it reminded him of those of Medusa, but kept his composure, still aiming at the two proclaimed Goddesses. Aphrodite shook her head at him. "I wouldn't advise that. We're here for business matters."_

 _"That portal is to remain shut for eternity," Dark Pit growled, like a wild animal, but he still lowered his bow and folded his arms. He had that sort of attitude about himself: very disdainful, but she found him very interesting for that same reason. Apart from his cautious behavior, he looked like a fun guy to hang out with. Maybe they could do that once they had saved their world. Dark Pit eyed at Artemis, then back at Aphrodite, since she was the only one willing to talk things out. "Master Hermes has told me to keep an eye out for tresspassers, and that's precisely what you are, 'Goddess of Love'."_

 _Aphrodite glanced at Artemis, who had stepped back and was heading towards a lost doe. She rolled eyes, for she knew exactly what they would be eating for dinner… But putting that aside, she looked over to Dark Pit, who had crossed the pond in order to stand right next to her. He had a sharp expression, that of an intellectual, and she had to say that it intrigued her. The angel looked at her, seemingly bored, and tapped his foot on the ground. "I must say that you are quite a prickly little angel~…" Aphrodite said, smirking. Everyone was getting annoyed with Medusa, so how could she blame him? She patted him on the head, which brought a huge smile to his lips, and started again: "We have need of you, angel, for you have a prophecy with your name on it."_

 _"As long as you don't open that portal, I'm fine with whatever."_

 _The Goddess of Love's pinkish eyes sparkled with wisdom as she said: "You have to save our dimension from Medusa. You are the Angel of the Sun, I see its rays flowing in your ocean wings. Only you can take her down, but I never said I wouldn't give you a hand during your battles."_

 _Suddenly, the angel appeared a little anxious. He fidgeted with his hands, biting his lower lip, before eyeing at the other goddess who didn't pay them no mind. He then decided to face his fate and glance at Aphrodite, who hadn't stopped looking at him ever since she had pronounced those words. "I'll have to talk about this to Master Hermes."_

 _"Oh, of course. Take your time, we're not in a hurry," Aphrodite nodded gently. Her pink eyes met his own of deep, vibrant purple and she stepped back, not minding the portal that had arose to the surface. "Though I must warn you: she's coming for you, angel. Be careful not to be swallowed by her darkness, for there is no cure: once it consumes the flesh, it takes the soul with it."_

 _Dark Pit gulped and shut his eyes in fear._

* * *

.oOo.

* * *

"That's how I met my mother, after that we started to work together in order to put an end to Medusa's reign of terror," Dark Pit said to Pit, who had been laying down on the bed, his head resting on his lap. Unconsciously, he had run his fingers in Pit's silky hazel hair and stroked his head, almost like a pet's. He liked the feeling of his hair tangling around his fingers, he liked to hear purrs of pleasure from the light angel as well. It warmed his heart, which was more than necessary since he was talking about his painful past. He knew that, sooner or later, Pit would have to know those details, since they were going to share their joys and sorrows over the next few weeks, at least. Plus, he was growing fed up with hiding who he really was; he wanted transparency. Of course, he wouldn't be able to tell him everything, but at least some key elements… such as explaining how and why he was being corrupted by the darkness, and how he managed to repel it for the time being.

Pit looked up, proving that, despite popular belief, he was not yet asleep, and thought of asking a question. There were many dark secrets that he did not know about, and he wished to learn about them as soon as possible. He couldn't deny that Dark Pit was like a magnet: he attracted him, no matter how angry, how bitter he felt towards what he had told him. He could somehow understand why he had said that, although he still needed to comprehend what it was that made him think there was no cure. Palutena was the Goddess of Light, wasn't she? She could save anyone from the darkness within their souls! Why was Dark Pit so defeatist? It was as if he had been through it himself… Perhaps his infection was worse than he dared to say? Perhaps he was possessed? No, if he had been, then he would've tried to kill Pit and save Medusa, not the opposite.

The Angel of the Sun sighed in ease when the cold, fresh fingers of his darker version ran through his hair, and eventually decided to be a detective. "So, you said that you used to work for Hermes, right?"

"Mhm? What about it?"

Pit looked at his hands and hummed. "Well, I was wondering: why did you stop? Or should I say: _what_ made you stop? You've never mentioned a single reason for it and I'm kinda curious."

"There wasn't a reason," Dark Pit lied; now that was _one_ subject that he didn't want to mention. He still felt ashamed that he had been banished by Zeus, he still felt thirsty for revenge when it came to the God of Travel himself. What they had done to him, he would never forgive them. All that Dark Pit had ever tried was saving his dimension, his world, the only thing that truly mattered to him. And he had been punished in trying to do so: with the Sacred Flame placed in mankind, they could've obliterated the threat of Medusa and Hades! The darkness would've been decimated in a snap, or even less! But he had been caught, and Hermes had accused him of being a 'rogue thief', which he particularly hadn't appreciated. The dark angel sighed at the thought and turned his face away from Pit. "There wasn't a reason. Now let me tell you about—"

"I have to insist," Pit interrupted him, slightly rising so that his head wasn't resting on his twin's lap anymore. Instead, he placed it on his hands and eyed at Dark Pit, who was becoming quite tensed. The expression in his eyes had sharpened, and his lip curled, which meant nothing but 'I will not take any other question'. But Pit wasn't an angel who gave up so easily. He furrowed his brows, thinking, and continued: "There's something you're not telling me. The Pittoo I know would never give up for 'no reason', as you say."

"I was everything _but_ the 'Pittoo'—I still hate that nickname, by the way—that you know today."

Pit rolled eyes. "I know! That doesn't change the fact that you're keeping things from me; things that I need to know, if I can trust my gut."

"Maybe you can't?" Dark Pit suggested, gritting his teeth, and that made Pit smile.

"No no no! I _know_ I can."

The dark angel sighed and shook his head; it appeared that there was no way out of it this time. He knew Pit enough to tell that he wouldn't let go until he gave him clear answers… He shut his eyes and took a few deep breaths. He would be the first person he ever told his story to, it was sort of frightening. He was the kind of angel that kept everything to himself, that thought he would bother everyone if he told them about his problems. But there, Pit insisted that he told him the truth… It was refreshing to have someone who cared, he had to say. In his dimension, only Aphrodite had been acting this way, until she was corrupted by Medusa's evil and tried to kill him a thousand times…

Dark Pit cringed at the memory, though he pushed it aside to focus on the subject at hand: Hermes. "The power of Medusa's darkness was starting to be overwhelming," he began to explain, already tearing up. His red eyes had softened, almost looking at the Angel of the Sun in a tenderized way. "We had to find a solution, Mother and I. But it appeared that my master, Hermes, had been quicker at it: he suggested that we should steal the Sacred Flame from Mount Olympus, in order to give it to the humans. According to him, that would've eradicated the darkness that settled within their hearts, countering it with a burning passion, desires and, as you may have guessed, greed. Mother and I said that we would do that, since it was the only way, and Hermes sent me to Mount Olympus during a cold winter night. I went to the mountain, snuck in Zeus' private quarters, and caught sight of the flame I was supposed to borrow."

Pit gazed at Dark Pit, fascinated by his story, and allowed him to continue without interrupting with stupid, pointless questions. That was a first for the dark angel, who always had to remind Pit to wait until the end before asking them. He had to admit that it was a pleasant surprise, although he didn't let Pit's silence distract him from his story-telling. "When I approached the flame, I noticed something else out of the corner of my eye: the Sacred Mirror. I was absorbed by its beauty, really, it was a wonderful mirror: wide, highly intricate frame made of pure gold materials, and seeing myself through it made me feel safe. I knew that I had something to do with its existence… But I still managed to snap out of it and touched the flame. I just had it in my hand when Zeus erupted in his quarters, him along with his personal guard. I was caught red-handed, and Hermes said that I wasn't working under his command when the God of the Gods asked him what I was doing there… He made it look as if I had chosen to steal the Flame on my own account."

"That's weak."

"We sure agree," Dark Pit nodded. Yes, Hermes had been so afraid of being banished himself, and thus deprived of his divine powers, to own up to his actions. The darker version of Pit remembered the rage he had read on his mother's face when she had learnt about the events. She had threatened to head right for Hermes' castle and have a word with him, however Dark Pit had to hold her back; that was at a time when he couldn't afford to have problems with a God, whoever that was. He had enough with taking care of Medusa, since he constantly failed at keeping her at bay. He vaguely remembered his humiliation when he went back to his own temple with cuts and bruises, disappointing Aphrodite because he had not succeeded in his mission. Yes, she had told him that the time would come, that he wasn't to do this on his own, but it still felt terribly embarrassing. He had always been a warrior that remained unbeaten, no matter who the enemy had been.

Dark Pit shut his eyes at the thought, and his mind soon wandered off into the darkness of his own shame. He would've given his own life to ensure that his mother would make it out alive… Well, at least more so than she was now.

Pit brought him back to reality when he finally decided to sit up, and ceased to use his darker twin's thighs for support. He hummed, wondering about several other things that he dared not ask about, before Palutena walked in, opening the door widely and looking at them. Both of the angels had been in the dark, Pit's room only lit by a small candle that was placed on the bedside table. They had priviledged the somberness, since it helped Dark Pit with expressing his feelings—he had said that it made him feel safer, more welcome than dazzling bright light in his face.

Pit glanced at his Goddess, delighted by her sight alone, and rose to his feet. "Lady Palutena!"

"Yes, hello Pit," The Goddess of Light quickly answered, then her green eyes turned to Dark Pit, who folded his arms and tried to avoid looking at her. She stood in the doorway, leaning against its frame, and smiled. "I see that you two are back on track!"

"And what exactly are you implying?" Dark Pit retorted, sounding more pissed than he actually was. He had to admit that being close to Pit again felt incredibly nice; he was relieved that their last altercation had not ruined the link—that _connection_ —that they shared. Even though they were not carbon copies of one another, they still had access to the other's feelings, the other's thoughts: they connected on a way deeper level than they did with either Tip or Blapi. In a sense, it was understandable: his mother had said that they were the two heirs, hadn't she? So it was to be expected of them to share a link that was stronger than they did with the two other angels.

The dark angel narrowed his eyes at the Goddess of Light, who didn't come any closer to them, as if she desperately tried to maintain their fragile proximity. "Silence is not an explanation."

Palutena chuckled and crossed her arms against her chest. She wore a sort of nightgown made out of a silky material, almost identical to that of her blankets. This one was white though, which Dark Pit admitted to find surprising. However, he showed nothing of his confusion, instead focusing his attention on Pit, who was back to sitting down on the bed next to his darker version. "After your quarrel, I really believed that you would never look back at each other. I'm pleased to see that I was wrong!"

"Why have you come here, there has to be a reason," Dark Pit said, quite coldly, without looking away from her.

Pit huffed and eyed at his twin with a mischievous spark in his blue orbs. "Maybe, just like you said, there wasn't a reason."

"Haha. Aren't you funny!"

Palutena glanced at them with a smirk on her lips, and trailed her hand on the wall until she found the lightswitch. She pushed it, temporarily blinding the two angels who had accommodated to the darkness surrounding them. She had no idea of how long they had remained plunged in somberness, but it was enough to make them whimp at the sight of the light. "Come on, get up! We still have to go to the Underworld."

Dark Pit groaned under his breath and rolled his ruby eyes in annoyance. "It's like, the middle of the night right now—perfect time to go out and invade a land filled with demons, now isn't it? Are you out of your fucking mind?!" he protested, but she didn't seem to care about his complaints, since instead of showing actual concern she nodded towards the door. The dark angel grunted, upset, but resigned to following her wherever she wanted to lead them—assuming that it wasn't the Underworld. Pit did not discuss his Goddess' demand and obeyed, standing up and walking up to Palutena.

The Goddess of Light told them that, before she sent them to the Underworld—which she supposedly would do the next morning—she had to show them something. Perplexed, the two angels glanced at each other. She hadn't mentioned what it was, nor where it was, nor if it was dangerous to begin with—but since she hadn't asked for their weapons, they supposed that it wasn't. They quietly complied and Palutena led them to her quarters, where… a familiar figure, very feminine, was sitting on the bed. Dark Pit ogled at his mother and smiled widely. "Mother!"

"I'm here!" Aphrodite said, beaming, then she addressed a polite smile to Pit who stood next to Palutena. The Goddess of Love sprung to her feet and walked towards Dark Pit, in order to take him into a warm hug. The black angel grunted, because he hated embraces except when he shared them with Pit—and recently Palutena—but accepted the gesture, though he didn't even think about returning the favor. After a short moment, Aphrodite pulled away and locked eyes with those red of her 'son'. "Palutena has told me about your plan, I must say it is well-thought. I knew you'd come out with an amazing perception of things."

"Uhhh… Thanks?"

Aphrodite blinked. "Are you surprised? What's wrong?"

"Pittoo, you didn't tell me anything! But you're so smart, I should've known you'd shine again. So, what's the plan?" Pit asked, pleased with his twin's intelligence. What'd he do without him? Much to his surprise, Dark Pit shook his head silently, looking over to his lighter version, speechless. Pit frowned at that and turned towards his Goddess, who had a huge grin on the lips. Understanding, from that alone, that perhaps it was better if he didn't ask, he chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head. "Hehe… Forget it, we'll have time to talk about it later, Pittoo!"

Dark Pit, on the other hand, didn't intend to be so passive about this whole thing. He tapped his foot on the ground and folded his arms again, staring emotionlessly at the Goddess that he considered his mother. His ruby orbs shone with nothing but pure boredom as he took a deep breath. "You know what, I can't help but wonder: what's the idea? Because whatever the fuck it is, I wasn't made aware of it, nor does it come from me."

"It doesn't? But I thought you said—" Aphrodite inquired, surprised. She darted a look towards the Goddess of Light, who stood by the door without a word. "You've told me that Pittoo had been at the heart of this decision. But he… doesn't know about it?"

Palutena shook her head negatively; she knew that, if she had told them what she intended to do, they would refuse to go to the Underworld. But it was absolutely required of them, they had lost enough time and Medusa couldn't be held back any longer. They had two options: defeat her, or be defeated by her. Of course, she would've loved for Tip and Blapi to join them, but they would've drawn the attention to themselves. Tip was a little too enthusiastic all the time, which meant that he wouldn't be the best member fitting in a sneaky mission, and Blapi had just recovered from the darkness that had taken over his body. The closest the two angels were to Palutena, the sooner they would be ready to fight alongside their two counterparts. For the time being, Pit and his darker version could do the job on their own. Sure, it would be dangerous… they could easily get killed, but they wouldn't be alone: Aphrodite and herself would be by their sides, lending them their powers to help them through the treacherous hordes of enemies that flooded the Underworld's skies.

Aphrodite appeared to understand the reason behind her actions and nodded in silence. She eyed at Dark Pit, who wasn't convinced by the silent treatment that he was receiving, and the angel stood his ground when she tried to get close to him. "Nope, _not_ happening. I'm not going anywhere before I get to know what the fuck is going on."

"Pittoo, what did I say about—"

"Shut up Pit!" Dark Pit snarled; he wasn't in the mood to deal with him at the moment. He craved to know why they were supposed to put their lives on the line in the first place; that was the least that the two Goddesses owed them. After all that they had done to save this dimension, all the danger that they have been forcefully thrown into, they deserved that much in his opinion. And he wasn't giving up on it anytime soon. "So? You do realize that I'm serious when I say I won't move, right?"

Palutena sighed, defeated. She should've known that she couldn't keep her plan secret from him, he was too insistent. He would never agree to go anywhere if they didn't spit it out, so was there really a choice? Oh! Maybe there was… She smirked, her green eyes gleaming playfully. "I think I see the morning lights through the windows!" she claimed. She glanced over to Aphrodite, who got the message and smiled.

Dark Pit took a peek and snorted. "You forget yourself, Goddess. There isn't any source of light outside."

Aphrodite looked at him insistently. "Oh, yes, there is, you're just not looking right," she said, then she snapped her fingers. As soon as she did so, Dark Pit's wings started glowing pink, and the angel looked at his mother in sheer horror.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" he cried out, shaking from head to toe because he knew very well where Pit and him would be heading, and he already hated the idea to the bone. The Goddess of Love shrugged her shoulders, eyed back at him in a sorry way, before his wings took him through the air and past the barrier that Palutena had set. Pit followed his lead, asking him to wait up, but Dark Pit didn't control his flight path at all—which was highly frustrating, he had to say. The dark angel gritted his teeth in an attempt to contain his rage. "You'll pay for that, Mother."

 _"Sure I will, but only after you finish your mission! I love you son, be careful on the way!"_

"Seriously… What'd I do to deserve this treatment?"

Pit chuckled. "Hey, it's okay, at least we're together Pittoo!"

"Yeah, _my point._ "

The two angels dived right towards the Overworld, and almost knew where they would end up already: the waterfall, so that they could go through the portal. Dark Pit clenched his fists, yelling at Aphrodite to stop and just talk to him, pleading her to have mercy, but she never listened nor replied. Pit finally caught up to him and held his hand for a second, in order to reassure him: they were doing this together. Nobody would resist their team, not even Underworld baddies. Dark Pit rolled eyes, told him that he had heard him the first time and that it really didn't make things easier for him, but he still squeezed the hand that had slid in his own, feeling its warmth and collecting his thoughts so that he could stop panicking. Perhaps this wasn't so bad: he was with Pit, so it could've been way worse… Right?

Wrong.

* * *

 _To be continued…_


	28. Chapter 27: Drives and urges

_**Good evening everyone—or afternoon for others! How are you all doing? Here is the 27th chapter of the fiction, and I still haven't gotten further with the next ones… I need to get back on track.**_

 _ **I'll let you read this one, tell me what you think of it in the comments if you'd like to!**_

 _ **Yours truly, Circle of J.**_

* * *

 **Disclaimer: ****I do not own the characters, although I took some liberties with both Tip and Blapi. The deities mentioned are taken from Greek Mythology, remastered the way I imagine them. What I own, on the other hand, is the plot.**

* * *

 **Kid Icarus: Heirs of the Light**

* * *

 _Chapter 27: Drives and urges_

* * *

"Why the fuck did I ever accept to do this?!"

"Pittoo, watch your mouth!"

"Yes Mom~!" Dark Pit scorned Pit, beyond pissed off because he frankly annoyed him.

The dark angel snarled but kept on slamming his fist against that rock that blocked their way out, though he admittedly was growing tired of it as well. It had been three days. The Goddesses didn't answer his calls, no matter how desperate they were. He had tried everything: shooting the damn thing with his staff: nothing; asking Pit to help him push it out of the way: nothing; calling out the two stupid Goddesses who had caused them to be stuck there in the first place: nothing! Even Medusa refused to let them out, even though he was certain that she knew of their presence in her realm. Dark Pit gritted his teeth and kept banging against the rock, until his hand hurt again and he had to stop.

Pit told him to settle down and wait for Palutena to come—like she would—but he wouldn't listen, he was too stubborn to accept being imprisoned. If he had managed to flee Medusa's hold, he could also run away from a natural prison! But that rock falling had nothing natural, he had to remember that: an Underworld enemy had pushed it, thinking that it'd squish them on the ground. Pit had been reactive enough to push them out of the way, but the idiot hadn't realized that he had thrown them into a trap. Dark Pit had spent two days yelling at his face, telling him that he was beyond what the words 'stupid' and 'moron' could convey. Pit had said that he should be grateful that they weren't dead, to which the dark angel couldn't help but laugh.

And there they were, still in this cave, with no way of getting out while their air supply was running thin. How long would they survive? Probably a week, even though it seemed a little too optimistic. But perhaps, if it really wasn't bearable anymore, he could kill the idiot who got them stuck to begin with. That way, he wouldn't be needing air any longer, and all that would be left would be his'. Dark Pit shook his head at thought: no, he was going insane. Normally, he would never think about killing Pit—well… depends. But not in those desperate situations, at least. After all, Pit was just as stuck as he was, and he probably was scared also. Even though he kept saying that Palutena would come and that he had faith in her, Dark Pit wasn't blind to the dying sparkle of hope in his blue eyes. It was only a matter of time before it disappeared completely, never to be found again.

Pit, who was sitting in the far back of the cave, looked up from his book. He had been practicing his letters for the last few days, since he was convinced that his precious Palutena would eventually show up without him having to do anything about it. He knew all of his letters by heart, and would sometimes sing the alphabet song—which greatly pissed off his darker half, who was trying to concentrate to get them out of that stupid cave. Pit closed his book, absent-minded, and glanced at his darker twin when he cried out in pain. He stood up and ran to his side, to check on Dark Pit's hand with frowned brows. Maybe he had really broken it this time. "Are you serious? Look at it!"

"What about it?"

"You broke it, are you serious right now?!" Pit snapped at him—his darker twin wouldn't say that it was exactly a first, but it was one of them, so it still took him by surprise.

The dark angel pouted and recoiled his hand, trying to move his fingers but wincing at the throbbing pain. "Fuck, you're right."

"Stop swearing!"

"SWEARING IS THE LEAST OF MY CONCERNS!" Dark Pit retorted, then he went back to staring at the stone wall in front of him with rage. He was going insane, he had to admit it. Staying enclosed in the darkness, surrounded by nothing but occasional mumbling from the Reapers who tried to make their way in from the other side, was driving him nuts. He was going to lose it if he didn't find a way to get out of there. Plus, he could feel the consequences of being plunged in constant somberness: his soul was surrendering to Medusa's powers, which, despite what he dared say, were more powerful than he had imagined. They have been flowing in his veins for years…

However, with the increasing threat and the context, it was growing stronger than ever. Dark Pit didn't like it: only a few more days and he would really kill Pit, but not because he would lack air. His soul was on the verge of giving in and succumbing, it was his mindset that kept it from doing it. "Pit, I'm sorry I yelled at you…" he said, which caught the attention of his lighter half, who had returned to his usual spot and had started working on the letter 'R' again.

When he felt a pair of eyes locked on his back, Dark Pit continued: "I should've listened to you the first time. There's really nothing we can do until Palutena arrives, is there?"

"Like I said, no, there isn't. But I'm sure that she will come; Lady Palutena always saves me, that's a rule."

Dark Pit sighed sadly and looked down in defeat. "And what if she doesn't come? What happens then?"

Pit stood up and walked towards him, wrapping his arms around Dark Pit's waist from behind. He buried his nose in his feathers, which smelled almost like cotton candy, and closed his eyes. "If that's the end? Then… Well, it could've been much worse, don't you think?" he whispered. His voice had left him a few hours prior, because he had grown so thirsty that the thought of speaking up killed him from within. So, instead, he spoke only in whispers, to preserve his throat that was way too dry to even be used without risks. The Angel of the Sun pulled his darker twin closer to him, still closing his eyes, and eventually murmured again: "I love you, Pittoo…"

Dark Pit tensed up when he heard those words, since he couldn't find it in himself to say them back. He really wanted to, he wanted to express how much he loved him, how important he was to him, but he… had never been good with words. He had never been an expert when it came to voicing his feelings out, since he had been so accustomed to keeping them under lock and key. He gulped, braced himself, and tried to force them to come out—but they simply wouldn't. He had opened his mouth, pronounced the first syllable, then his voice had died out. He had no control whatsoever… It scared him to say those words, for they would be the doom of the one hearing them. As soon as he would say it back, Pit would be destined to die—it had always been this way, why would it ever change?

Dark Pit trailed his broken hand along the stone underneath it, eyes shut. "I can't say it…" he gave in, defeated by his own feelings.

Pit frowned and asked why he couldn't, but the twin didn't know what to answer, for he didn't have a reason himself. When he understood that he wouldn't get a clear explanation, Pit sighed and looked down, hiding his face within the dark teal wings that he kept so close to himself. "It's fine, I suppose… With your pride and all that, I didn't expect anything else than Tsun-Pittoo to show up."

"DON'T YOU EVER CALL ME THAT AGAIN, YOU HEAR ME?!" Dark Pit snapped at him, quickly turning around to face him. He was just _that_ close from punching Pit until he lied dead on the floor. "I'm just scared of saying it, okay?! I don't need you to be a fucking asshole right now!"

Pit startled at the tone he used to talk to him and stepped back, raising his hands in the air. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry, okay?!" he defended himself, though he wasn't sure what he had done wrong. He just said that his twin was acting like a tsundere—which was completely true, no doubt there. Why did Dark Pit take it so wrong when it was simply the cold hard truth? Pit bit his lower lip and moved back to his usual spot, at the bottom of the cave. Maybe it'd have been better to keep quiet on that one… Now it was too late anyways, but he'd know for the next time something like this happened. He wouldn't insist this time. The angel sat on the cold ground and crossed his legs, completely silent. Without a word for the other, he grabbed his book and read about the next letter, 'S'.

Dark Pit looked at him, desperate for his touch, wanting to go and snuggle with him, but the darkness kept him from doing that. It forced him to stay where he was, standing next to that stupid rock that blocked their path, despite his intense will to go and hug Pit. His eyes flashed pure black for a mere second, but he quickly repelled it and shook his head, as though he was dealing with a vicious headache. Pit caught sight of that and stood back up, cautious. "Pittoo?"

Dark Pit tried his hardest to smile, a silent tear running down his cheeks because of the outrageous amount of pain streaming through his body. This thing was tough, but he wanted to reassure Pit. The last thing he wanted was for him to feel threatened in his company… Although he could profoundly despise him at times, he still loved him and wished to keep him safe at all costs—even that of his own life if it ever came to that. "I'm fine, don't worry, I won't hurt you. Though, I must warn you that… I can't promise that I won't attack you in five minutes."

"The darkness is gaining ground?" Pit inquired, and from the stern look in his darker half's eyes—which, if turned into words, could be translated as: 'what else, dumbass?'—he knew that he was right and that he had asked a stupid question. He sighed, nodded, although he was rather intimidated, and walked up to Dark Pit to lay a kiss on his lips. "It's okay, I'm sure we can fight through this together."

"I can fight it for you, you mean?" Dark Pit snickered; at least he was smiling again.

Pit chuckled and shrugged one shoulder, saying that it was all a matter of perspective. Dark Pit dived right into his ocean orbs and felt himself aroused, for whatever reason he was. He pulled Pit closer to him and immediately began to leave slobbery kisses in his neck and up to his ear. The light angel wrapped his arms around him, more than happy to get the attention of his darker version. He hissed when Dark Pit bit on his skin and sucked it, rubbing the dark angel's teal feathers to encourage him. Everyone in Skyworld seemed to think that he was the 'innocent little angel'—oh no he wasn't. He could come off as someone sweet and cute on the outside, at first glance that was, but inside lived a raging fire which ignited his entire soul: a lust for blood, for fighting, an urge for flesh. His spirit was overflown with passion, with desire, but he still managed to convey a whole another image to Palutena and the other Gods—and other godly beings—that he knew.

But if he was the incarnation of the God of Sensual Love and Desire, it wasn't just for the title; he had always felt pushed by his numerous, sometimes devious urges. He never mentioned any of them to Palutena, for she would surely think less of him, but Dark Pit knew better. He could perceive the flame in his blue eyes, he could see right through him. Despite popular belief, Dark Pit was the 'softy' in their relationship. Mainly because of his tragic past which made him scared of touch. Even though he had almost gotten over with it, it still lingered and sometimes he would pull away randomly and close his eyes.

Dark Pit drew Pit's attention by kissing his lips with hunger, with thirst for his taste. The light angel gladly answered to the kiss and their tongues danced together while their bodies had gotten even closer to each other. They both ended up lying down on the stone ground, and of course it was Dark Pit who was underneath. He shut his ruby eyes for a second, collecting his thoughts, and eventually opened them again to look straight into Pit's glistening ocean orbs. Through them, the dark angel could see his desire, his intense sexual drive which he couldn't keep within himself any longer, and smirked. His Pit, just as he liked him: determined to get what he wanted, right then and there, on the bare ground. And thus he nodded and their lips connected again, for a longer moment this time. Pit was careful when he took off his darker half's clothes, until he picked up the sound of… a woman singing. She was coming their way!

He eyed at Dark Pit, who seemed to hear it too, and they both jumped back on their feet. "Fuck me, seriously… I swear, I must be cursed or something. Can never enjoy a nice embrace without interruptions…" he sighed, more pissed than he seemed to be on the outside.

Pit chuckled. "Aw, we'll have time later. For now, what matters is to get out of there. That way, you'll stop breaking your hands constantly!"

"Come on, that's the first fucking time it happens!"

"That's one time too much! Now shh!"

Dark Pit furrowed his brows, taking a serious expression when he snarled: "Don't tell me what to do."

"SHH!"

"FINE, FOR FUCK'S SAKE!" The dark angel cursed his bad luck, putting on his clothes reluctantly, when the voice of the woman came closer. The two heirs stood next to the rock that blocked the entrance and listened carefully to the singing voice, to try and decipher what she was saying. It sounded like she was whimpering… Did something happen to her?

Worried, Pit kept quiet so that he could finally make out a few words—he didn't know if this woman was a threat, so he ought to be cautious. "Taketh me th're, mine own chthonic h'rses~!" she sang.

The light angel glanced over to his darker half, who decided that, who matter she was, it was worth asking for help. Thus, he banged against the stone, once again damaging his hands. Pit glared at him, deadly serious, but blinked when he heard footsteps stopping in front of their cave. It was surely the woman, since the singing had suddenly been interrupted. The question was: would she save them? If she worked for Hades, since she was a prisoner of the Underworld, she probably wouldn't even try. Perhaps they had lost their time more than anything else. Uncertain, Pit looked at Dark Pit, wondering what would happen now. He was about to complain when the rock before them was abruptly blown to pieces. The two angels startled and stepped back, quick enough to avoid the explosion.

A woman stood before them, with long braided hair, and round, profoundly sad gray eyes. Her hair was as golden as the sunrays, and her dress was loosely falling over her body. She ogled at them, probably uncertain as to how they were there, and took a step towards them. Pit backed off, since he didn't like the energy that came from her, but Dark Pit just stared, cautiousness sticking to his face. He had furrowed his brows and stood his ground, a slight curl at the corner of his lips. The woman stared at them in disbelief before she spoke up, with a soft, barely audible voice: "Ang'ls in mine own land of Darkn'ss?"

Dark Pit gritted his teeth and glared at her from head to toe. "Yep, what's wrong with that?"

The woman seemed put off by the way that he answered, but smiled nonetheless. "I nev'r bethought t wouldst befall."

"Well, now you're seeing it. Thanks for letting us out."

Pit tightened his grip around his Palutena Bow, ready to use it at the expense of the intruder. He didn't like her at all: Hades' energy was all over this woman, whoever she was! She was probably one of his pawns, so he ought to defeat her if she dared to come closer. The Angel of the Sun didn't say a word, whereas the two others stood in silence after their brief exchange, glancing coldly at the deity in front of his eyes. She somehow reminded him of someone he knew… but was it _him_ who knew, or _Eros_ within himself? He couldn't tell the difference for the time being… He wondered if she would answer his question, by any chance.

Much to his delight, she did; the woman focused on him and smiled. "Has't thee cometh to save me, Eros?" she asked.

The angel of light blinked, confused. "Uhhhh… What's that you're saying?"

Dark Pit rolled eyes and walked up to the deity before his eyes, since he knew very well who she was: her name was Persephone—she was Hades' wife, in other words. He admitted that he wasn't pleased with the idea of being a translator… but he felt like he had no choice but to comply if he wanted to get out of the Underworld alive. After all, they didn't know how dangerous she was… If she was truly Hades' wife, then she had to be pretty threatening despite her cutesy looks and her blond locks. Hades wasn't the type of God to marry a weak woman who couldn't defend herself… And Dark Pit was not exactly in the mood to fight. So, instead, he was going to pull it off with comedy, and hope that Persephone would understand that the two angels represented no threat to her at the same time. It was worth a try; comedy worked with everyone, didn't it?

Dark Pit eyed at his lighter half and smirked when he said: "She asked if you wanted an autograph, what else~?"

"Oh!" Pit exclaimed, falling right in his trap—which the darker version of Pit couldn't help but laugh at internally. Then the light angel frowned, confused. "But—Pittoo, I don't even know who she is! Why would I want an autograph? You're messing with me again?"

"When did you become a genius?"

Dark Pit briefly eyed at Persephone, who stood there in silence, probably also trying to make out what they were saying. Although their English was rather close to her own, it still held a few differences, mainly in pronunciation, which made understanding difficult. But there were also some vocabulary issues; for instance, she surely didn't understand what an 'autograph' was, it was certain that she had never heard of that. Yet there they kept saying it, the dark angel trying to convince his lighter self that she wanted to give him one.

The Goddess of the Underworld furrowed her brows, puzzled, and eventually decided to interrupt them: "May I int'rrupt, I needeth thy holp to find Hades, mine own lief husband. I misseth that gent and hest that thee lead me out of the Und'rw'rld."

The dark angel's wings perked up when he heard her voice, and he turned around to face her, very serious. "Wherefore wouldst we do that?"

Pit looked confused as ever; he didn't understand a word of what they were saying. What was this language? Greek? He wasn't used to hearing it, he had to say… Even the humans had switched to English, it was way more practical anyways. But the way that she sounded… It was at the same time so… English, but the words were weird and he hated the feeling of not knowing something. Pit appeared all the more upset that Dark Pit could also exchange in this weird, distorted version of English; it wasn't fair! His darker self was so much more clever than he was, and he loathed it dearly: he ought to be the superior one! Dark Pit had surrendered and accepted to be submissive in their relationship for the time being, why did he constantly show off?!

Dark Pit turned to face Pit and smirked, a hand on his hip. He looked overly confident, too proud—he looked like a jerk, all things considered. It was as if he was telling him, through one single glance, something like: 'Who's the best?'.

Pit turned his attention to the woman, still not knowing who she was, and decided to focus on her. He had a few questions to ask her, but… he feared that she would answer them with her strange, outdated English. Nonetheless, he stopped second-guessing everything he did and went for it: "What's your name? Are you a Goddess?"

Persephone understood the questions and nodded. "I am Persephone, Hades' jointress."

"Which means?"

Dark Pit snickered. "It means 'wife', _stupid_. You ever checked a Shakespearean translator online?"

"Uhhh… A _what_ again, Pittoo?"

"Well nevermind then!" the dark angel laughed, shaking his head, dismayed. Well, perhaps he should've expected it: one couldn't be good with games and books, they were quite incompatible. Maybe Pit should've cared more about literature than about his stupid video games… They wouldn't lead them anywhere during their mission, contrary to Dark Pit's numerous readings. The darker version of Pit admitted that he wasn't as much of a video game historian as Pit was; they came from a totally different world. Though, he had to say, he was not ignorant for that matter. For example, he could certify that he had played more _Bomberman Land Touch!_ than Pit, he'd bet everything he owned on it.

Persephone eyed at the two angels, noticing the outrageous number of similarities between them, but also their striking differences. One was way more intelligent than the other, but the hazel-haired angel was cuter. The darker one seemed to have an attitude; a bit rough on the edges, whereas his doppelganger appeared to be quite the gullible one.

However, besides all those observations, what caught Persephone's attention the most was the stone dangling from the darker one's wrist; its wondrous purple color provided light to their dark surroundings, which she admitted to be glad about. Ever since Medusa had taken control of the Underworld, the Reapers were trying to get to her by all means possible… Medusa was jealous of her position and threatened to kill her if she didn't leave the Underworld, but where would Persephone go? All that she had ever known had been taken from her so long ago… She was convinced that her father wouldn't recognize her if she went back to Mount Olympus.

Plus, in spite of his unarguably wrong actions—namely, her abduction, her consequent rape and forced marriage—she loved Hades and wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. But she wasn't blind: Medusa would never let her approach Hades again. The Goddess of the Underworld sighed when she gave it a thought. Yes, she had to leave, no matter how she felt about it. And, maybe, those angels could help her do that? She didn't exactly know the way out, since she had been captured and forced to stay within this realm for her entire life. Persephone frowned, determined, and addressed the dark angel, asking him to lead her out of the Underworld.

Dark Pit stared at her, wondering why he'd do that, but accepted when Pit told him that, after examination, she didn't seem so bad. They couldn't forget that she was Hades' wife but, at the same time, if she had wanted to kill them, she would already have done so. Thus, the two angels chose to trust her—for the time being, at least. The three of them walked towards the portal, which was rather close to their position, and exchanged on the reasons behind Persephone's sudden departure. She explained the situation with the Goddess of Darkness and Pit had started to accommodate to her English—enough to make out what she was saying, at least, even though some words were still left to his interpretation. They talked about Medusa, what she planned to do on the surface, and Persephone assured them that her husband, the way she knew him, wouldn't participate in her upsurge. She certified that Hades didn't want the world to fall in the hands of his servant, since that would make her more powerful than him and, then, he'd be completely defenseless.

Dark Pit had decided to trust her words, even though he remained cautious and critical, while Pit had ignored her. He felt utterly uncomfortable, and kept thinking about what Palutena would say once she caught him and Dark Pit with the Goddess ruling over the Underworld. She would be pissed at him, that was for sure, but hopefully she would understand why they had chosen to believe her.

Although he was on guard, Pit somehow knew that this Persephone wouldn't put a hurt on them; she was way too desperate for that. As she had told them, all that she wished to do was to leave and find Zeus in Mount Olympus—where Hades was also a prisoner. She seemed to love her husband, despite how much of a monster he had been with her. Somehow, that was something that Pit could relate to on a deeper level: Dark Pit had tried to kill him countless times, had been the worst of the worst with him, and yet he had fallen for him in the blink of an eye. The light angel smiled when he thought about it; they had been through so much together, and it was far from being over, which brought warmth to his heart. He knew that, someday, Dark Pit would have to leave, but it wasn't going to happen anytime soon. Perhaps they would have time to get married? Pit blushed wildly; he would definitely say yes, if Dark Pit ever proposed to him. Now he just had to hope that he would before leaving for his dimension... which was uncertain, to say the very least.

The dark angel retreated in the back, whereas the two others talked about their respective crushes, since he felt rather embarrassed. Whenever Pit talked about him, he made him look like the brightest star in the night sky. Oh, Dark Pit liked it to some extent, but it was so flattering that he felt himself redden every time he caught him do that. So, instead of showing his discomfort, he stayed behind them and tried his best not to listen to them. Pit smiled at Persephone, who had just been talking about Hades and the way she felt about him, and nodded when she asked if he knew what it was like. "Oh, I do, trust me. My twin over there's tried to kill me so many times that even ten hands wouldn't be enough to count them!" he said, chuckling.

Persephone giggled. "Thou hath used to be en'mies?" she inquired, quite surprised; they seemed to go along so well! Yet they had been mortal enemies? She was curious to know the details.

Pit provided them to the Goddess of the Underworld, since he loved to talk apparently. He was pretty talkative, but that was perfectly fine with her. "Yes! Pittoo and I, we were constantly fighting to see who was the best—well, until we discovered that we were connected the rough way. If I die, he dies. I'm pretty sure that if he dies, I die too."

"How romantic! Thou arst as Romeo and Juliet, in s'me way!" she beamed.

The Angel of the Sun nodded—although he didn't get the reference—and looked over his shoulder, his eyes meeting those of his twin. His cheeks were as red as a bed of roses, and the twinkle in his ruby orbs conveyed just how embarrassed he was. If there was one thing that he hated, it was to talk about himself; Dark Pit was a very secretive angel, who liked to keep details for himself. He had almost forgotten that Pit loved to talk about himself and those that he held close to him. Dark Pit rolled his eyes at the thought: he should've known that there was no escape. Pit faced Persephone and saw that they were close to the portal. Hopefully Medusa wouldn't block their path… They were not yet in safety. "Pittoo and I, we're one and the same: in heart _and_ soul!" he exclaimed, blushing a little. "He's my everything, and I hope he knows it. I don't know what I'd do without him."

"Pit, can you shut up?" Dark Pit spoke up, his cheeks even more flushed than they had been previously. He tried to play it off as though he was annoyed, when really they all knew that he was profoundly touched by those words. "I'm about to puke my guts out, plus the portal is here."

"Why are you sick, Pittoo? Is it because of what I said?"

"Well, yes, it is," the dark angel admitted, then he looked down to his sandals, ashamed. "I'm not the romantic type…"

Pit nodded; oh, he knew that. Did he make him feel bad because of the way he talked about him? The angel of light couldn't help but wonder why: was it fake modesty, or was it because Dark Pit knew, within himself, that he could never talk about Pit the way that he talked about him? He couldn't pick between the two, to be honest. Perhaps it was a little of both. No matter what it was, the light angel paid it no mind; Dark Pit was right, the portal was just before their eyes, and the question was: what would they do with Persephone? The two angels were almost convinced that she couldn't fly, and the Lightning Chariot was out of commission… Since neither Pit nor his darker version could fly on their own, they wouldn't be able to drop her in Mount Olympus—it was too far away, Palutena would refuse to send Pit over there.

Deciding that it was too soon to worry about such issues, Dark Pit walked through the portal and sighed when his red eyes, which had accommodated to the darkness surrounding them, met the warm rays of the sun. The fresh scent of the trees invaded his nostrils, however he didn't pay attention to it, turning around to face his two partners. Persephone widened her eyes when she saw the natural elements all around them, and gasped when she realized that they were in cave hidden by a waterfall. She hurried to the entrance and ran her fingers through the cold water shielding them from view. Pit, on the other hand, walked up to Dark Pit, folding his arms and glancing at the Goddess. "What do we do about her then?" he asked his twin, who shrugged it off since he honestly couldn't care less.

They had agreed to lead her out of the Underworld, they were not paid enough to fly her up to Mount Olympus—well, they were not paid at all, actually. Sure, they were 'do-gooders' but that didn't mean that they should agree to everything. Time was running thin and they needed to figure out a plan to defeat Medusa. They really hadn't any second to waste to bring a petty Goddess to the realm of the God of the Gods. Pit eyed at Dark Pit, who had a serious expression. Perhaps he was already thinking about all that they would have to do, or probably he was wondering why they had been sent to the Underworld to begin with—which was a question that remained unanswered to this day. Fortunately, they had not lost the necklace, which was already a big relief. "What are you thinking about, Pittoo?" he inquired.

Dark Pit looked up at him when he spoke up, surprised. Had he been so lost in thoughts that he hadn't heard his question? The dark angel blinked, focusing on his surroundings, and glanced at Persephone, who was leaning forward and admiring the forest at the foot of the waterfall. "We really shouldn't stay here. That portal is still open, Medusa could come after us."

Pit nodded. "You're right, but I still can't figure out why Lady Palutena wanted us to be in the Underworld. If I remember our flight path, she wanted us to head for Medusa's castle, but why? She never told us, or I just can't remember it."

The dark angel smirked and placed his hands on his hips when he said: "You know how a chicken takes three steps and then forgets?"

His lighter half's blue eyes lit up with delight when he heard those words. He knew that too?! Maybe their dimensions really were similar! If chickens also forgot everything in his world, then it had to mean that their worlds were closer than they had thought! Or… perhaps Dark Pit just remembered it from the Uprising, when Pit had said it? Oh, no, he wasn't there when he had said that to Palutena. The Angel of the Sun couldn't help but grin widely, until he realized the meaning of Dark Pit's insistent glance. "Hey! I'm not a chicken, but I do forget things sometimes. Has she said it?"

"No, she hasn't," the dark angel answered, then he eyed back at Persephone, who spun around to look at them. The Goddess of the Underworld seemed absolutely thrilled to be out of her dark realm—you bet—and wanted to see more of the forest. Dark Pit raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Well, we can't fly, Goddess. So we can't give you a tour."

Persephone pouted but said that it was okay, before she walked up to them and asked them what they were going to do now. Pit explained that they couldn't bring her to Mount Olympus themselves, since they were flightless, and suggested that the Goddess of the Underworld follow them to Skyworld, where he was sure that Palutena would find a way to warp her. Persephone was stuck anyways, so of course she agreed and wondered how she would get to Skyworld to begin with, since she had no idea of where it was or how to reach it. Dark Pit rolled eyes; their alliance was going to be complicated if she was a complete airhead. He didn't know how long he would have to cope with her, but it'd be long enough in his opinion. Pit didn't seem so bothered—of course he wasn't, since he was a senseless cunt as well. Dark Pit knew that those two would go along pretty well, while he would be struggling in trying to knock some sense into their brains.

The angel of light looked up at the sky and called out his Goddess, hoping that she would hear him despite the fact that he had been gone for three days. A halo of light surrounded the three deities, who were immediately warped to Skyworld's gardens. When they landed in the grass, amongst the picotees and the white lilies, they were met with quite the spectacle: Tip was giving advice to the Centurions on how to do certain moves, whereas Blapi was sitting in the grass, making a wreath of flowers with what he had found in the different flower beds. Palutena herself wasn't there, which they found strange, but since the sun was high they knew that their counterparts were not in any danger. Dark Pit noticed the shy glances of Blapi and grunted; that one was acting suspiciously, he didn't like him at all—and not just because he had kicked his ass under the influence of Medusa's evil, although he was certainly bitter about that.

Pit appeared completely oblivious to Dark Pit's concern regarding Blapi, and instead had gone off running towards his new best friend. "Tip! Tip, I have returned!"

"Hold your hand this way—Wait, Pit?" Tip wondered, raising his head and looking around him, and his eyes twinkled as soon as he met his counterpart's ocean orbs. His heart started pounding in his chest. "Pit! Oh Pit, it's you, you're back!"

Persephone stayed as still as a statue, intimidated by all of these angels that she had never seen before. Somehow, they all looked a lot like Eros' new incarnation… but they still held some differences, much like Pit and his darker version. Speaking of the darker version, Dark Pit had been staring at Blapi with gritted teeth and a sharp expression in his ruby orbs. She didn't know what worried him so much about that innocent little green angel, but he seemed to clearly hate him. Persephone's attention was drawn by Pit's voice, and she noticed that the angel was kneeling down in front of none other than Palutena, the Goddess of Light. She gasped and her eyes filled with heavy tears; she had changed so much… From a sweet little girl, she had become a strong, confident Goddess, with a heavy-looking staff in her right hand. The Goddess of the Underworld hesitated before stepping forward, which caught the eye of her sister. Palutena instantly turned pale and pushed Pit out of the way, walking towards her lost sister.

The Goddess of Light looked at her from head to toe, deploring the poor condition of her dress. "Persephone, how did you get out of the Underworld?" she asked—it was really the first question that occurred to her.

The Goddess of the Underworld eyed at Dark Pit, who was standing close to Blapi and still staring at him, with his arms crossed and frowned brows. "Thy angels holp me find mine own way out, we hath walked through a p'rtal"

"I couldn't reach up to them, how did you do it?" Palutena inquired, narrowing her eyes.

Persephone looked back into her sister's green eyes and smiled. "I wast singing at which hour I hath heard banging 'gainst a huge rock. I hath decided that I wouldst take a look behind, and I hath found these two. I'm fain that those gents did accept to holp me out," she explained, glancing at Pit who had made his way next to the Goddess of Light. If his bright smile and his sparkling eyes when he looked at Palutena meant anything, he was quite fascinated with her. Was he her servant? Since when was Eros the servant of another God? Maybe he had fallen in love with her? No, he had said that he loved that other angel… What about Psyche in all that? He used to be so infatuated with her… Persephone frowned but didn't let that confuse her. Instead, she went straight to the point with Palutena: "Can thee bring me to Mount Olympus? I needeth to find mine own fath'r."

The Goddess of Light, who had a hard time believing that her sister was back after all these years, only nodded in response and invited her to follow her inside the palace.

Meanwhile, Dark Pit stared at Blapi. The angel took off his green laurel crown and set it aside, in the grass, before he happily put his wreath of white and yellow flowers on his head. He was surrounded by colorful butterflies that seemed to revolve around him as though he was a magnet, which was strange but not unexpected—after all, Blapi was Viridi's angel, so his link with Nature had to be strong. The green angel appeared rather proud of himself, smiling like a child opening Christmas presents, and he chuckled when two butterflies landed on his head, tickling him. "Hi friends!" he exclaimed, and the butterflies flapped their wings in answer. For a second there, Dark Pit wondered if he could talk to them, but didn't let those thoughts distract him. The dark angel was admittedly caught off-guard by Blapi's adorable laughter and slightly blushed at the sound of it: it was so sweet, he had to give it to him. He couldn't hold back a smile from creeping on his lips as he watched the green-attired angel with his wreath of flowers.

"Wait for me!" Blapi had gotten up, playing with the butterflies, his feet buried under a pile of cut stems. He allowed a bright green creature to land in his palm. "Aw, you're so cute! Do you know where this world's Mistress Viridi is, by any chance? Are you delivering me a message from her?" he asked the winged insect, then he noticed that someone was looking at him. He startled a little and discreetly eyed at the dark angel who, he had to say, had struck his fancy. He felt himself blush wildly: Dark Pit had such strength of character, such beautiful red eyes… Seeing that he was smiling brought joy to the heart of Viridi's angel. Blapi's cheeks flushed at the sight of that smile and he sat back in the grass, caressing its soft blades with the tip of his fingers, as though he was scared of crushing them.

Dark Pit stayed where he was, leaning against a tree, in the shadows, and observed him with growing interest. There was something about this angel that he didn't like, but at the same time, he was so cute that it was difficult for him to resist. He was like a baby who needed constant nursing. Although he hated to take care of babies, he wouldn't mind spending a little bit of his free time in Blapi's company. The only thing in their way was Blapi's shyness; he would be too scared if Dark Pit approached him, and would probably run off to be on his own again. The dark angel clicked his tongue; too bad. After all, he loved Pit, so he didn't need to make friends with the others—why would he care about the two others?

Nonetheless, he stepped out of the shadows and said: "Well, isn't that just precious? Those insects look like they enjoy your company, Mr. Nature-angel."

Blapi looked up at him, surprised to see that he had decided to talk to him—thing that he had never really done before—and his cheeks turned as red as the wings of the butterfly on his head. Maybe that was the start of something between them? He didn't really know what to believe, but decided not to focus on it; instead, he engaged in a conversation with the dark angel, whose teal wings reflected the light of the sun with such elegance that Blapi couldn't take his eyes off of their feathers' greenish-blue shine.

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.oOo.

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Farther off into the gardens, in the training grounds, Tip extended his bow and a red arrow manifested in his fingers, shaped like a literal thunder bolt. He closed one of his eyes and aimed at the target, which had been placed on the ground a few feet away. The Centurion next to him didn't look away from his hands, watching his every move and trying to imitate them. Pit's troops required some serious training, and Zeus' assistant had provided it on his own account; he liked to help fighters get better with their weapons, since Zeus had been so kind with him and had taught him everything, even when he didn't have to.

The angel's wings perked up when he heard Pit come closer, watching his movements. "Maybe you should raise your arm a little, you're too low."

"Oh, right!" Tip reacted, before he giggled nervously and adjusted his aim. "Thanks, Pit!"

The Angel of the Sun smiled in response and observed him, examining his posture. Tip stood just like he was supposed to, but he was a little… stiff, his back was tense and that would necessarily impair his otherwise precise shots. Desperate to help him with that issue, Pit walked up behind Tip and massaged the roots of his wings, so that the angel would have to relax. He wasn't blind to Tip's crush on him, far from that, however it was the least of his concerns. If they wanted to defeat Medusa, they had to make sure that each and every angel was capable of defending themselves against any threat. "Here Tip, always be comfortable if you intend to hit the target every time. Your body is your weapon: if you don't stand properly, if you're too tense, you'll never get anywhere."

Zeus' angel nodded, though he was quite uncomfortable, but stayed where he was and followed his advice. Pit was a hero for him… He had been admiring him forever, so having his warm, strong hands caressing his wings and rubbing them felt encouraging. Once he had taken a few deep, calming breaths, the angel with the red scarf aimed at the target again and hit the center, which made him really proud. Even though he was experienced, he could be pretty serious in battle and forget his basics. First step: be comfortable in his body. That was one of the keys to winning.

Pit moved back after he had shot the target and clapped. "I knew you could do it, Tip!"

"It's because you're with me, it motivates me…" Tip mumbled under his breath, his cheeks just as red as actual tomatoes.

"Well, don't you start feeling too comfortable around him, because that angel belongs to _me_ ," erupted a dark, threatening voice that they both recognized as soon as they heard it.

Dark Pit stood next to them, arms folded and tapping his foot on the pavement. He glared at Tip and forced Pit into a hug, which was more possessive than caring. Pit protested and told him to let go, but the dark angel wouldn't listen and, instead, would keep staring in a challenging way at Tip. When he realized that Zeus' angel wouldn't answer to his provocative behavior, he shrugged and turned to face his hazel-haired counterpart. Pit was furrowing his brows, pissed off, but that only made him cuter in Dark Pit's opinion. He pulled him into a kiss, and the light angel showed no sign of resistance—quite the opposite, since he blended into the kiss and breathed against his darker version's hungry lips.

"You still owe me a little something, Pit-stain," Dark Pit said in his ear, and Pit bit his lower lip before taking his hand.

"Okay, come," he whispered back, blushing at the perspective of spending an intimate moment with his darker half. After all, he was the one to say that they would have time later, now he had to own up to his words. Not that it bothered him, of course. Pit kissed those lips again, longer this time, before he led Dark Pit to their shared quarters, making sure that Palutena didn't see them on the way. Once they had reached their destination, Dark Pit pinned him against the wall and started biting into his neck like a wild animal. Pit held a few loud moans and turned to the two Centurions who were staring, speechless, since they had forgotten to shut the doors. Their captain asked them not to let anyone in his room—he insisted: under no circumstance, not even Palutena was allowed in—and the two guards nodded in agreement.

After a minute of intense staring, since they couldn't get their eyes off of the two angels making out, they stepped out and closed the doors behind them. They gulped in sheer terror, knowing that they would have to stay next to them and thus hear everything, even though they had just been locked from inside. That was going to be quite the experience for those poor, innocent Centurions…

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 _To be continued…_


	29. Chapter 28: Infatuated, intoxicated

_**Hello everyone! How are you? I think you're going to like this chapter! I want to thank Neko for the comment that you left on the previous chapter, and also blazeassault137 for the favorite! It means a lot to me! :)**_

 _ **Anyways, without further ado, I'll leave you to it!**_

 _ **Yours truly, Circle of J.**_

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 **/!\ Warning:** **Smutty session /!\**

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 **Disclaimer: ****I do not own the characters, although I took some liberties with both Tip and Blapi. The deities mentioned are taken from Greek Mythology, remastered the way I imagine them. What I own, on the other hand, is the plot.**

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 **Kid Icarus: Heirs of the Light**

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 _Chapter 28: Infatuated, intoxicated_

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"Get on the bed, Pittoo~!" Pit ruthlessly pushed his darker version on the bed, and didn't waste a second before getting on top of him. After their last lustful kisses and bites, the beast which resided in his soul had come to the surface to claim what was his'. The dark angel was already out of breath, the lower half of his face completely soaked in their mixed saliva, and he barely had time to react before Pit kissed him again. Dark Pit closed his eyes, trying to keep his cool despite his insecurities, and allowed himself to moan when he felt his partner's drooling mouth tracing a line in his neck. It felt comforting to have those warm lips pressed on his skin, so much so that he couldn't help but try to get more of them. He tilted his head to the side, and Pit took advantage of his position to devour the flesh under his eyes. In the meantime, he trailed his hand down and brushed against the small but noticeable bulge forming in Dark Pit's undershorts.

The angel of light smiled and kept on kissing and biting the soft skin of his darker version's neck as he carefully fondled him. Dark Pit's eyes were half-shut, and shy whispers passed his lips that he tried to keep closed. He bit his lower lip; his urges were taking over him and he couldn't—and wouldn't—resist them any longer. There was so much to enjoy in this situation, in Pit's teeth nibbling at his neck, in Pit's fingers rubbing him so gently but also rather insistently, and also in his sweet panting every time he let go of the flesh under his lips, right before he melted back onto it and bit it stronger. Why would Dark Pit pass on such pleasure? Yes, he felt petrified: the memory of that human still crippled him in moments like this one, even though he was getting used to them. But at the same time, he knew that Pit wasn't anything like that human; well, he sure was possessive, but he would never hurt him. That thought alone managed to get Dark Pit to soothe down and enjoy the moment.

Pit looked up, diving into his lewd red eyes, and he leaned in to plant a kiss on his nose. Dark Pit chuckled at the gesture, which was so sweet in their context, and he entangled his fingers in Pit's hazel hair. "You're such a dork…"

"But you love it, don't you, my Pittoo~?"

"Can't deny that~…" the dark angel smiled, and he pulled Pit up to his face. Their lips were inches away from touching, and both boys breathed heavily and devoured each other's eyes with growing desire.

Dark Pit's whole body was igniting, all of that because of a simple touch on his crotch; a flame had been lit in his stomach and consumed him from within. Dark Pit eyed at Pit, swift moans passing his parted lips to encourage him to rub faster. The angel above him seized this opportunity and, while he complied and satisfied his demand down there, Pit also sealed their lips together, immediately invading his darker version's mouth with his tongue. The other was surprised but gladly accepted to return the favor. His deep, accelerated breaths were all that could be heard in the room, whereas Pit was smiling and eating him out with an incontrollable hunger. Their bodies drew closer and closer, until their chests were pressed against one another.

Dark Pit clicked his tongue once Pit released him from the long, passionate kiss that they shared, and looked down at his own body: he was still in his undergarments, and so was his lighter half. Now that was going to change right now. The dark angel shook his head, annoyed, and forced Pit to take off his undershirt by simply tearing it apart with his bare hands. The other pouted, claiming that it was his only shirt of the sort, but his darker self shrugged it off and did the same to his own undershirt.

Satisfied, Pit went back to kissing his darker half, leaning above Dark Pit and demanding access to his mouth again, which was granted almost instantly. They moaned and sighed within the kiss while Pit's hand still fondled his darker half's crotch teasingly, going faster and faster to earn lustful cries from the other. Now it was all the better: their chests actually touched, and their burning hot skins were in contact, locking to each other and sending shivers down Dark Pit's spine. He trailed his hands along Pit's arms, clung to them when an intense wave of pleasure hit him hard, and moaned loudly. The dark angel tried gritting his teeth to suppress his moans, but no such luck: he kept on letting out muffled whimpers, and begged for his lighter half to take him right there and then. That only increased Pit's arousal, which led him to slide his hands down Dark Pit's body and grasp onto his undershorts. However, he lingered there for a minute, caressing the skin around the shorts and sighing in delight.

Dark Pit groaned but didn't try to take his shorts off himself, only eyeing at the blankets that caused him to sweat even more than he already did. He kicked them off of the bed, paying no mind to the fact that they were on the ground, and looked back into Pit's gorgeous blue orbs. They sparkled with lust, with desire, with urges that he couldn't contain anymore, nor wanted to. Dark Pit's eyes shone with mischief at the sight of this secret flame; he would not keep him waiting.

The dark angel reached over to Pit and successfully pulled down his undershorts, which resulted in his other half doing the exact same thing to him. "Now that's more like it~!" Dark Pit exulted, his body shivering because of how impatient he really was. He wanted to feel Pit inside of him. He wanted all of him, right then, right there, on this bed that would creak until it broke. The lighter Pit left slobbery kisses in his neck, on his chest, and eventually reached for the part that interested him the most. Dark Pit's eyes widened when he understood what he was up to, and bit his lower lip in anticipation. His member hardened at the perspective of feeling this warm mouth engulf him.

Without further ado, Pit took him into his mouth and began slow movements, though the sight of him in this position was turning Dark Pit insane. Foreplay was a cool thing, he liked it, but sometimes he just wanted to get straight to the bottom of things. His lighter half's mouth felt so welcoming, so pure, so perfect—he wanted all of it, but at the same time he wanted to get things done. The fire within himself was blazing, and he had no idea how long he could contain it.

Pit, on the other hand, was silent and focused, savoring the delicious moans of his lover and almost purring with content. That was surely his favorite thing to do: make Dark Pit whimper and beg him to take him right away, like he did just then. The light angel opened his eyes to glance at his darker version's state: his eyes were half-closed and he was drooling, his back arching at each wave of pleasure that he was receiving. His wings were outstretched and twitched each and every time Dark Pit cried out, pleading his lighter half to take him and make him his' until sunset. Pit chuckled and couldn't help but admire the view, though that did not stop him from sucking—he could do many things at once.

Dark Pit groaned, frustrated, and reached over to the bedsheets, which were glued to his sweaty skin. He squeezed them between his fingers, his knuckles turning white, and let out a loud moan filled with desire. "Fucking-ngh! take me-ahhh! P-Pit, stop-ahhh… stalling, please~!" he begged, and he quickly bit his lower lip to hold back another loud cry of pleasure. Pit giggled and kept the torture going, moaning at the sound of his lover's lustful cries, and at one point the other couldn't take it anymore and came in his mouth.

Pit blinked, surprised, but gladly swallowed it all. Although he had appreciated it, he couldn't help but wince at the lingering taste in his mouth—honest to the Gods, it was beyond horrible. Cum did taste bad… but he was happy nonetheless, because it belonged to Dark Pit, and nothing of him could repel him. The angel of light climbed back to Dark Pit's flushed face and dived into his ruby orbs; they both shared a chaste, loving kiss, before Dark Pit reached out to the drawer of the bedside table. He rummaged through it blindly, desperately trying to find the bottle of lubricant in the mess that Pit stored in there.

Aphrodite had given it to Dark Pit after him and Pit had kissed for the first time, claiming that they would need it sooner or later. Somehow, the dark angel couldn't thank her enough for her farsightedness.

After a minute of intense searching, Dark Pit found it and took it out of the drawer, handing it to Pit as he kept kissing him with growing hunger for flesh. Pit grasped the bottle and drew back, opening it and putting some of the oil-like liquid in his hand. Dark Pit watched his every move when he applied it on his own self, and bit his lower lip; he wanted him so badly, why was he so slow? Was he teasing him? The dark angel couldn't even be mad at him for that, he desired him way too much. But he'd get back to him at some point, he could be sure of it. Once Pit was done applying the lubricant on himself, he glanced at his lover and noticed his strong, devouring urge. "You're really impatient today, my Pittoo~."

"You bet, do you know how fucking hot you look right now, babe~?"

Pit laughed out loud and blushed, but didn't reply. Deciding that he had been playing with him enough, he aligned himself with Dark Pit and made sure that his fingers were wet with saliva. For that matter, he sucked on them himself. Dark Pit glared at him and let out a few frustrated sighs, and that caused Pit to raise an eyebrow. What did he do this time? He folded his wings and glanced at his lover with growing concern. "What is it, my love?" he asked, in a low voice that betrayed his worry.

The other looked off to the side and tried to hide his red cheeks. "I mean, seriously. _I_ could do that, you know, I'm not just here to spectate," he retorted, sounding more irritated than he truly was. It was true that it bothered him, but part of him was also enjoying to see Pit licking his own fingers like they were lollipops… It had something exciting to itself.

Understanding the meaning behind his bitter words, Pit smiled and held out his arm, so that his darker half could suck on his fingers, since he wanted to. The dark angel smiled at the sight of those wet fingers and took them in his mouth without hesitation, licking them from top to bottom with care. He made sure to slide his tongue between the soaked fingers as well, which brought a strange tickling sensation in Pit's lower region. Witnessing such a lecherous act made him even more eager to possess his darker version. Dark Pit let go of Pit's fingers once he believed that they were drenched enough to make their way in without hurting him too much. "There you go, angel. Do your worst."

"Aw, my worst~?" Pit asked, fluttering his eyelashes.

Dark Pit rolled eyes and pulled him in a lustful kiss before he whispered against his lips: "Your very worst, sweetheart. You know I like it rough, so don't you go easy on me~."

They both separated after that, and Pit knelt down between his darker version's spread legs. He pulled them farther apart, so that he could have easier access to him, and licked his lips. When he inserted a finger, the dark angel cringed intensely and shut his eyes. Well, it was not the most enjoyable thing in the world, but he had been through worse, so he didn't complain.

The lighter one made sure to be cautious and gentle when he fingered him, going in and out very slowly, whereas Dark Pit was lost in his thoughts; he had always been scared of being touched this way—at least, ever since he had been raped. Although the thought was still frightening, he admitted that he felt a lot more comfortable when it was with the one he considered to be the love of his life. The idea that he was exposed, weak, that anyone could abuse him was… bone-chilling, but he knew that Pit would never do that. Despite his wild attitude in bed, the angel of light was a true, genuine sweetheart in soul; he would never take advantage of Dark Pit's weakness to hurt him.

The dark angel sighed, attempting to reassure himself but it was probably one of these times where he wouldn't calm down no matter what. Sometimes, it was just impossible for them to have sex: Dark Pit would be too scared, even if nothing was happening. He hoped that it wouldn't be the case this time around, he really wanted Pit. He gulped down his fears when he felt Pit's eyes locked on his face. "Are you alright, Pittoo? We can stop if you want," Pit suggested, though he admitted that he'd be a little disappointed if that had to be the case.

Fortunately, Dark Pit smiled and nodded. "I'm fine, keep it up babe, you're keeping me waiting~."

The lighter version smiled widely before resuming. He prepared him the best way he could, scissoring him to ensure that he would fit in without hurting Dark Pit excessively. Of course, it was not going to be super enjoyable at first, but at least he could make it hurt the least possible. Once he was done with that, he eyed at his lover, who took a few deep breaths before nodding again. Pit placed his hands on Dark Pit's hips and clung to them as he made his way in, sending cold shivers down the other angel's spine. He immediately stopped moving and waited for approval before pursuing.

The dark angel gritted his teeth and strongly pulled the bedsheets; the intrusion felt absolutely terrible, he had to say it. It felt as though Pit was tearing him apart with a pair of scissors, lashing through his flesh. Dark Pit gulped and panted, trying to accommodate to the presence inside him without thinking back to the human. He refused to think of him, he denied access to any crippling thoughts, for they would definitely ruin his mood. He briefly saw the human's face, his laughter echoed in his mind, and a tear ran down his cheek. He could remember his eyes scanning his body from head to to—

"Pittoo, hey, it's me," Pit whispered, which successfully steered him away from his nightmares. Dark Pit looked up, gulping down his worries, and rubbed the tears out of his eyes. If he broke down crying, it would be the end of their little game, and he enjoyed it too much. Pit eyed worriedly at his lover and ran his hand over his cheek. "Are you going to be alright?"

Dark Pit nodded. "Yeah, I told you to keep it up, sweetheart."

"Sure you did, but I wouldn't want to scare you off."

"I'm just fine."

The lighter angel wasn't convinced but agreed anyways. Even though he was doubtful, he knew that Dark Pit wouldn't let him think otherwise anyways, so… no point in arguing. Instead, Pit started off their love session with slow movements, ensuring that he would not hurt his other half too much.

Dark Pit shut his eyes, refused to think about the human, and instead focused on the burning flame within him. The raging fire that had been put out a few minutes earlier was back, and it seemed to be stronger than before. He felt himself harden and moaned in both discomfort and pleasure. The pain was washing off, but it was very slow, and the dark angel still felt as though he was being torn from inside. Pit rubbed his cheek a little, to comfort him, and kept going when his darker half allowed him to, though he also chose to lean forward so that he could leave kisses on his darker version's bare chest—focusing around his nipples, since they were very sensitive. They immediately became hard and Pit sucked on one of them, sending chills to the angel who received the delicate attention.

Dark Pit let out a few groans, still not fully accommodated to the presence inside of him, and concentrated on rubbing Pit's hair. The distraction helped him soothe down, which made the whole situation all the more enjoyable. He curled one of Pit's hazel strands around his finger and played with it, whereas the other angel was still licking, biting and sucking on his reddening nipple.

The darker version of Pit let out a deep lustful cry—that came directly from the back of his throat—when he felt teeth sinking in his flesh and arched his back. His hands released Pit's hair and went back to gripping the bedsheets when his lover proceeded to speed up. His thrusts became more insisting, more aggressive, and Dark Pit felt the liquid fire within him ignite even more. Pit panted heavily, his eyes shut while he was deeply focused on what he was doing. His pure white wings eventually wrapped around Dark Pit, who was nothing but a moaning mess underneath him. The light angel went in as far as he could, and lied down on top of his lover when the pleasure he was feeling became out of control. It was another way of expressing how much he loved him, and Dark Pit was delighted to have these soft feathers touching his skin.

The dark angel moaned and took advantage of this position to claim Pit's lips and swirl his tongue around that of his other half. They both cried out in pleasure at each and every movement of Pit, and hungrily devoured each other's mouth. Saliva was everywhere on their faces, mainly dripping from their chins as they kept eating each other out, growing more and more desperate. Dark Pit embraced his lighter version, folding his own twitching wings around their entwined bodies. "K-Keep it-ahhh-Keep it up, sweetheart~!" he encouraged Pit, who was growing even more impatient and merciless in his movements.

The angel of light violently bit into his shoulder, his whole body shaking from the burning sensation in his veins, and let out a loud moan which echoed through the room. Dark Pit clung onto Pit's shoulders and joined in, moving his hips to meet those of his lighter half eagerly. Every time they slammed into one another, the two angels grunted and Pit accelerated his pace.

The only sounds in the bedroom were those of their groans and cries, and that of their skins meeting, drenched in their own sweat. Pit continued to speed up until he had reached his limit, and also had managed to find the sweet spot that made Dark Pit beg for him to 'fuck me harder, dammit!'. The two angels locked lips again and again, between desperate moans and loud cries of pleasure, and eventually Dark Pit came a second time, staining both of their lower bodies with his fluids.

Pit wasn't done yet and kept pounding him relentlessly, occasionally screaming at the top of his lungs when the pleasure that he tried to contain was too much to handle. He eagerly kissed away Dark Pit's face, whether it be his cheeks, nose, lips, eyelids—anything that his mouth could reach because he couldn't care less anyways. He wanted a taste of everything. He bit into Dark Pit's lower lip, sending a wave of pain down the darker angel's spine, and suckled on it with desire. Pit tasted his lover's blood and opened his eyes, looking at him with apologies, and resolved to kissing him passionately instead. Dark Pit smiled and pulled him closer, wrapping his legs around Pit's hips and pushing so that he could go even further inside of him.

"You're nearly there, babe~," he whispered against Pit's lips, and the other was unable to answer with the loudness of his moans and the tension building up in his body. He eyed at his twin worriedly, wanting to say sorry for how bad he was hurting him with his violent, ruthless thrusts, but Dark Pit hushed him: "No, don't apologize. Break me all you want, just looking into your eyes will put me back together."

Pit smiled at that but had to grit his teeth when a wave of intense pleasure ran through him. He clung onto Dark Pit's hips, pushing himself in and out with deep cries that he had no will to contain any longer; he wanted this to be over with, to relieve his darker half from his pain. Dark Pit smiled and kissed him on the forehead, panting and his member hardening again from the mere sight of his lover in such a lewd state and position. His lighter half kept going for a little more than two minutes, encouraged by the dark angel's heavy breaths and slight whimpers, and finished off with a low moan and intense shudders shaking his entire body. Pit took a minute to pick up his breathing, covered with kisses from Dark Pit, who was still hungry for his touch.

The dark angel admitted that he was obsessed with Pit's feeling, with his scent, with his eyes—with him as a whole. He would never get enough, he felt like a drug addict. Dark Pit tried to sit up, but soon realized that Pit was still above him, lying down and breathing heavily, so he stayed right where he was. The dark angel trailed his fingers—which felt tighter than ever; he had trouble bending them without hissing in pain—in Pit's hair and caressed it gently. "Shh… Take a deep breath."

"That's what I'm—"

"Shut up, Pit! If you're talking, you're not focused on your breathing!" Dark Pit insisted. He massaged Pit's scalp with great care, in a loving way that only his lighter half knew he possessed within himself. He could come off as aggressive and unfriendly, but when people really got to know him and trust him, he would show up to be the best lover someone could hope for. Sure, he still never said that he loved Pit, but those gestures alone were more revealing than any overused words could be. As long as his darker twin kept on petting him the way he did, he would be content with their relationship.

The dark angel sighed, relaxed, feeling true bliss once again. It seemed like only Pit's touch could make him feel that way. Perhaps he should open up to him a little more, tell him more details about who he was and, maybe also, tell him that he loved him so much. Perhaps he should tell him that he would always love him more than anything, but could he? He gulped when he remembered his mother in his dimension, who had been Medusa's target since she was Dark Pit's only hope and 'love'—even though it was different. Dark Pit opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling, listening to Pit's tranquil breathing and feeling his chest rise against his own. He would hate to lose him, he couldn't lose him; he would die if he did. Pit was all that was left… to his whole existence. Nothing else mattered.

Dark Pit was definitely infatuated with Pit, and even _that_ was akin to euphemism. The dark angel kept rubbing Pit's hair while he was thinking about all that they had been through together. Eventually, Pit raised his head and pulled himself up, meeting the sparkling red rubies of the angel beneath him. His own ocean eyes were glistening in the light of the sun outside. The lighter angel sat up, between Dark Pit's spread legs, and rubbed his face to wash off his tiredness. He wanted to make the most of the day, since nighttime was dangerous with all the darkness surrounding them… If Pit slept during the afternoon, he knew that he would regret it. With that thought, he glanced over to Dark Pit. "We should be getting up, it's still bright daylight outside."

"So?" Dark Pit inquired.

Pit shrugged his shoulders and held his darker half's hand when it trailed along his thigh. "We can't get out at night anymore, so I want to enjoy the sunrays and the cold breeze while I can!"

"Who even enjoys cold breezes?" Dark Pit inquired, raising an eyebrow, but he chuckled when he saw Pit's stern expression. He rubbed Pit's hand with his thumb, since they were holding hands, and smiled a little. "Fine, sweetheart. We'll go and watch the sunset, if that's what you want."

The light angel grinned in response and tugged at Dark Pit's hand, signifying that he should stand up if they wanted to go before it was too late. The darker version of Pit nodded and sat up on the bed, right in front of him, but he winced when he felt the sticky fluids coming out of him and staining the bedsheets. "Well, maybe it'd be a good idea that I take a shower first. So. I'll go and take a shower, then I'll join you at the bench. Alright?"

Pit nodded and smiled, sealing their lips into a passionate kiss. Dark Pit rubbed his left cheek and entangled his fingers in his messy hazel hair, then his red eyes met Pit's belly, which was splattered with dirty stuff as well. He cringed internally; sex was such a messy thing… but he couldn't deny that it was worth it. After they were done kissing each other, Dark Pit looked at his lover in all seriousness—which wasn't such a rare occasion, but it was in this case, because he would never act so… solemnly after they had sex. "No, I have a better idea: _we_ go and take a shower. Plus, I was not exactly done with you anyways~."

When he said that, Pit frowned and looked down at his other half's crotch, only to realize that he was already hard. The light angel blushed and chuckled. "Ooh, did I not give you enough, Pittoo~? I'm not even sure you'll be able to stand up."

"Aw, you're saying that you're _tired_ already, Pit-stain?"

Pit shook his head negatively and chuckled, standing up and heading straight for the bathroom where he said he would wait for him eagerly. After he had disappeared in the room, Dark Pit briefly glanced at the necklace, that he still had around his wrist, took it off and put it on the bedside table. After that, he rapidly picked up the blankets that were pushed to the ground, and followed his lover right away.

* * *

.oOo.

* * *

Palutena told him that she was feeling Medusa's threat, and that it was getting stronger. Pit asked how they could stop her before she could doom the entire human world with her darkness, but the Goddess of Light said that it was already too late for the humans, and that they had to go and find two representatives of the human race for… reproduction purposes. She explained that humanity had fallen to the hands of darkness, and that countless wars divided them, and had caused several thousands of casualties already.

Pit's eyes filled with anger when he heard those words; he didn't understand why they kept fighting, and mostly why Medusa targeted them and not Skyworld. Was she afraid of something? It appeared that she liked to assert power over the weak, who couldn't do anything to stop her. It was unacceptable for the young angel, who had to draw a line somewhere. Palutena told him that he needed, along with Dark Pit, to choose two humans that they would keep in Skyworld, under constant protection to ensure that their race wouldn't go extinct.

Pit had agreed and had resolved to protect his friends first: Magnus had been his choice when it came to the human male that he wanted to save. As for the woman, since Gaol was apparently killed by the Underworld forces, he had no idea who to choose and decided to leave it to Magnus. After all, he was the one who was going to mate with her, right? He had the right to pick who he would want children with… After a moment of intense conversation and planning out, Dark Pit erupted in the room, slamming the doors open with a smirk on his lips. "Sup, d'I miss something?"

His lighter version immediately looked up and smiled widely, whereas Palutena asked him to come closer and figure out a plan with them. She summed up the situation on the Overworld to the dark angel, whose wings dropped when he heard that they had started new wars all across the land. The Goddess of Light told him about their mission to find a suitable woman for Magnus, and Dark Pit wondered why it had been that human who had been chosen to begin with. Pit admitted that it had been incumbent on him to choose, and that he didn't want to let his friend down.

Surprisingly enough, the dark angel simply nodded and said that he had made the right decision. When normally they would've disagreed, Dark Pit appeared to be strangely compliant. The Goddess of Light refrained from mentioning it and focused on her idea, on what she wanted them to do precisely and how long that would take them. After everything was settled and the two angels accepted the mission, she handed them two glowing stones that looked sort of similar to that on the necklace, except that they were shaped like tiny versions of the sun. She told them that these would be essential, since spending a week on the Overworld without protection from Medusa's darkness—and supposedly it was what those stones provided to those who had them—was foolish and, mainly, suicidal. Pit thanked his Goddess for her service, and took her in a warm hug before he ran to his quarters to get his belongings.

In the meantime, Dark Pit folded his arms and eyed at Palutena. "What about Tip? And Blapi? Will they stay here?"

Palutena nodded quietly; she had taken the decision to keep them under constant supervision, because she knew that Medusa was out for them as well, so that they could defeat Pit and Dark Pit. The Goddess of Light was aware that their growing friendship would get the best of them if the other two turned their backs to them. So, choosing not to risk it, she kept them locked in their room, with few access to the outside world—and even that was restricted to the gardens and the hot springs, and those occasions would be watched by Palutena herself. The Goddess of Light sighed. "It's best if they stay close to me. Tip is immune to physical wounds, but we don't know what would happen if he was confronted with Medusa's darkness. Perhaps he could be consumed and then… There would be no way of defeating him."

"And Blapi?" Dark Pit asked again, this time sounding more worried, which betrayed his hidden concern for the green-attired angel. He wouldn't admit it to himself, but he liked that angel: he liked his cuteness, his innocence. So bendable, he could do anything with him and he would never notice a single thing. He could toy him around—even though he wouldn't, because Blapi held a… somewhat special place in his heart, no matter how much he denied it.

Palutena noticed the sparkle of concern in Dark Pit's eyes and smiled. "Don't worry about Blapi, he will be safe."

"I'm not worried."

The Goddess of Light rolled eyes but didn't say anything. Denial didn't look good on Dark Pit, but what could she say? He was like that; whenever his feelings were involved, he acted cold and careless. Palutena thus decided to continue on the subject of Blapi, but not to mention Dark Pit's growing interest in him. "You see, he's feeling rather weak, and he's highly secretive, but I'm sure that he will open up to me—just like you did. It certainly demanded time and effort, but it was worth it."

Dark Pit's cheeks flushed. "That's, uh… such a nice thing to say. I didn't expect it in the least… Palutena, I-I don't know… I don't know what to tell you."

"Something like: 'Thank you, O Glorious Goddess of Light' would be enough."

"Not even in your dreams."

Palutena laughed; she expected that answer, and she liked to joke around with him. Pit was right when he had told her that he was amazing company… She learnt to appreciate him over time. It hadn't been the easiest thing to do, but she didn't regret it at all. Behind Dark Pit's confident and snappy attitude, there was a heart made out of pure gold—even purer than that on the walls of her quarters. She just had to dig for it, which took a lot of time and effort, she had to admit.

The Goddess of Light had thought about giving up many times, but never did she do it. She had been willing to see who was Dark Pit; behind the smirks, behind the mean words, behind the constant insults. She could say that she had successfully done so, much like her beloved angel Pit. She considered him to be her son as well, just like Pit—she made no real difference between the two now, they held the same place in her heart. She swore to herself that, after Dark Pit would be forced to leave their dimension, she would personally come up with a way to bring him back to her.

Thus, she had been working on a prototype: a new angel, who looked similar to Dark Pit, that she would send out to that other world in order to keep the balance of the Universe steady. Then, after she would've succeeded to do so—which was entirely hypothetical, because she had never tried something like that in the past—she would snatch their beloved gloomy angel from his original dimension, replace him, and everything would end well.

Hopefully that outcome would be the one they met in the end.

Dark Pit raised an eyebrow when he heard Pit running back to the main hall. He placed his hands on his hips, discreetly wincing at the throbbing pain in them, and slowly turned around right as his lighter twin walked in. He had a bag over his shoulder and his trusty Palutena Bow, that he ought to keep under all circumstances. The dark angel frowned. "What in the Underworld are you bringing this time? You won't be able to fly with that thing on your back, allow me to take it," he said, then he walked up to Pit and grabbed the bag, only to realize how incredibly heavy it was. "Woah, what the fuck?! What did you put in there?!"

Pit scratched the back of his head, nervous. "Food?"

"That's way too much—"

"No, it's perfect, Pittoo!" the light angel countered, pouting when his darker half opened the bag and took out a few elements. He clicked his tongue and looked off towards Palutena, who was witnessing the scene with a smile on her lips. "Lady Palutena, tell him it's not too much, pleeaase~!"

The Goddess of Light stood proudly when she said: "You know, Pit, meddling in the affairs of another _couple_ is never a good idea."

"Seriously, can you _not_ quote yourself all the time? It's getting on my nerves," Dark Pit snarled.

Pit eyed at him mischievously. "Everything gets on your nerves anyways!"

"Yes, _mainly_ you bitching at me!" Dark Pit growled, which silenced the other angel for good, much to his relief. The dark angel shook his head, pissed off, and looked through Pit's provisions. He took out things that would be beyond useless; they were not going to a world where people didn't eat! What kind of idiot could Pit be at times? Humans needed to eat just as much as angels did, so there had to be food supplies on the surface. What was the point of bringing that many items anyways?! He could feed the entire crowd of Centurions with all he had taken! The dark angel's wings perked up in annoyance, and he kept rummaging through the bag.

Once he had taken out most of the food supplies that Pit had packed in it, he picked it up and held it. Pit insisted to see what he had left, but his darker half only rolled his eyes and turned to face Palutena. The Goddess of Light was about to talk when the main doors of the palace slammed open; Blapi walked in, a little embarrassed because he probably didn't intend to push the doors with such strength, and apologized. Dark Pit glared at him, told him to run off before he could get his hands on him. The green angel, intimidated, quickly headed for the room he shared with Tip, whom they hadn't seen since the training session with the Centurions. Not that Dark Pit was concerned, but he knew that Pit was by the look in his eyes.

"Does anyone know where Tip is?" the angel of light inquired.

Palutena shrugged one shoulder; she wasn't overly worried about Zeus' angel, he knew how to defend himself in case of emergency. "He's probably in the gardens. Go check if you will, Pittoo can stay here and we'll talk about your mission."

"Right, and watch out for his sweet talk, don't wanna hear none of it," Dark Pit sighed, frustrated.

Pit chuckled, nodded and decided that it was an amazing idea to take a look around the gardens—despite his lover's blatant jealousy. Thus, he headed towards the doors of the palace—which were still opened, since Blapi had to hurry to his room without being given time to close them—while Dark Pit and the Goddess of Light talked about their mission a little bit, to get additional information. Pit turned away from them and walked out, listening to their two familiar voices behind his back until his ears picked up another sound; it came from the bench that he used to stay at with Dark Pit to read stories.

Intrigued, Pit followed it and saw that Tip was sitting there with a bunch of Centurions around him, sat on the pavement and gazing at him. Thinking that this was a strange behavior, the Angel of the Sun made his way to them, and found out that Tip was playing an instrument with seven golden strings. It looked like a 'C', but it was upside down. Pit blinked, since he had never seen this instrument in his life before, and Tip looked up. He first seemed surprised and stopped playing, but the other angel's bright smile convinced him to keep going. Tip kept playing a ballad, which had drawn the attention of all Centurions that had been flying around when they heard him. Indeed, he was incredibly talented, as though he had played this… thing for his entire life. The blond version of Pit finished with the melody and eyed at his idol, who was impressed beyond words. His ocean eyes gleamed with fascination, and that really warmed Tip's heart.

The angel with the red scarf blushed a little and kept staring at Pit, who came to sit next to him and take a look at the instrument. Tip gladly handed it to him and watched carefully what Pit would do with it, since it was a precious gift and he didn't want it broken. Eventually, after a minute of observation, Pit looked up and gave it back to him. Inquisitive about the object, he asked: "What's its name? Does it have one?"

"No, I didn't name it," Tip laughed, then he became more serious and held his instrument with great passion. "It's called a lyre. This one was given to me by Lord Hermes when I was a young angel, and since then, it's never left my hands," he explained, his gray eyes running over the golden musical instrument in his grasp. He cherished his lyre more than anything—aside from Pit, of course. He raised his head when he felt Pit's eyes locked on him and pursued his explanation: "You're the first person I allow to touch it. It's really precious to me… It reminds me of better days."

Pit nodded and his brain was overflown by a thousand questions that he could ask about Tip's dimension. Had it succumbed to the Darkness? Probably, since he was there to protect the 'last' dimension illuminated by the radiant light of the sun… How had it happened? Did he lose his friends? His family? Was Zeus still active, or had he been defeated as well? The angel of light shook his head and concentrated; one question at a time. Once Tip's eyes met his own, he began with: "Tip, we've never talked about your dimension, nor about your Medusa. Do you think you could tell me more?"

"Depends on what you want to know, really…" Tip answered, slightly uneasy, and his grip on his lyre tightened. He briefly looked at the Centurions, who decided to give them some time alone, since they were going to talk about quite a personal subject. Zeus' angel was sincerely grateful that they had chosen to do so; he didn't want everyone to know what had happened in his dimension, it was too painful. Before getting carried away by his thoughts, Tip turned to face Pit, who appeared to be concerned. He laughed humorlessly and braced himself. "There's not a lot of things that I'm willing to say… Lord Hermes is still alive, that's one thing, because he brought me here, he opened a breach which led me directly to you. Seigneur Zeus… It's complicated, and I feel guilty about it. If the Gods are possessed today, it's entirely my doing. You see, I'm not a hero like you, Pit… I'm just an angel who cannot hurt himself, no matter how hard he tries to."

"Why would you do that?!" Pit exclaimed, his wings perking up in terror.

Tip sighed and looked away, staring at his feet and at the cold, warm gray pavement underneath them. There was no way of avoiding the question, so instead he answered it honestly: "I wasn't the only immortal being in my dimension. Medusa also was. The only way to kill her would be that I spill my blood on her. The… The ultimate sacrifice, but it'd have saved everyone. Seigneur Zeus had come up with a solution: he told me that, with a potion, he could make me a mortal being. I decided that we should give it a try, and he began working on the said potion… But it was never finished."

Tip paused, picking up his breath, and his eyes filled with heavy tears at the memories. He remembered very well what had occurred after that: some Underworld creature had caught sight of Zeus' potion and had told Medusa about its making. Before it could have been completed, the Goddess of Darkness had erupted in Mount Olympus and had attacked Zeus. Tip had been there to protect him, but he was ridiculously overpowered. The God of the Gods had asked him to take the potion and the recipe, to fly off with them, but Tip had firmly refused to abandon his master. That only resulted in total chaos: Medusa had distracted Zeus and Tip with some of her strongest troops and, in the meantime, she had personally destroyed the recipe, along with the potion. Tip gulped when he thought about it; if he had been less stubborn, if he had done what his master had told him, he could've killed Medusa.

Pit steered him away from his thoughts when he placed his hand on his shoulder. He could very well picture how this situation had turned out… He knew the feeling of guilt; he had felt it when he had been back in his body. All the humans that he had killed burdened his soul, he couldn't rest, he felt terrible and ashamed—even though the Chaos Kin had taken control of him and it wasn't really his doing. He had also felt responsible when Dark Pit had been caught in the Chaos Kin's ashes; he had dragged him into this war in the first place, hadn't he? Palutena had spent weeks trying to tell him that he did nothing, that Dark Pit had decided to help out on his own account, but her captain couldn't help but feel intensely remorseful. So yes, he knew those feelings and how crippling they could become if they settled in. He would make sure that they wouldn't do that to Tip—he didn't deserve this inner torture, nobody did, not even Medusa and Hades.

"Tip, whatever happened, you did the right thing," the Angel of the Sun asserted, and Tip glanced up, surprised. Pit proceeded: "You couldn't have saved Zeus, even if you had wanted to. Same goes for that potion that you mentioned—which I suppose correlates with what we call a Drink of the Gods in our world; if it was meant to be destroyed, it's probably for a reason."

"Pit, you don't understand…"

Pit quickly interrupted him, raising a hand to stop him from talking. "Here, think of it this way: if you hadn't been immortal, Pittoo and I would've been abducted by Medusa… And who knows what we would've become. You didn't save your dimension, but you're participating in saving the whole Universe instead. Isn't it a fair trade?"

Hearing those words help put a smile on Tip's face, in spite of his heavy tears. He was right, perhaps it was a chance like no other. After all, if he was unbeatable and this Medusa wasn't, he would not risk anything in facing her. Although he knew that he couldn't do that: it was Pit's and Dark Pit's job to bring her down to her knees. Tip wasn't too concerned; those two were absolutely fantastic, both in character and fighting style. Pit was the one who always went head first in battles, leaving strategies and scheming far behind, whereas Dark Pit himself was more into planning things out to ensure a good outcome. What was the funniest was their fighting style: despite their techniques, Pit was way less violent than his darker counterpart when it came to the actual battlefield… Strange combination, which fascinated Tip.

The angel with the red scarf stood up, wiping off the dust sticking to his chiton. Pit followed his lead and they both walked back in the palace, talking about anything and everything so that they didn't draw the suspicions of Palutena and Dark Pit. Speaking of those two, they were still discussing the organization of their mission, and Dark Pit appeared to be pretty pissed off—he always was anyways, so that didn't surprise Tip.

The dark angel spun around when he heard the doors open and his facial expression softened when he met Pit's eyes. For one of the first times, Tip could decipher a hint of love and profound care in his ruby orbs, which were shining brighter than a handful of stars. Pit smiled and walked up to him, asking for details about their mission, and Zeus' messenger couldn't help but listen. Apparently, both of the heirs would have to roam the Overworld for a week or so, in order to… mate two humans—he picked up the name 'Magnus' but didn't know what it was referring to.

The blond angel frowned, confused as to why this was even important to begin with, and started walking towards his room when he heard Dark Pit clearing his throat. His voice was incredibly close. Zeus' angel froze, taken aback, and jumped when a strong, firm hand landed on his shoulder and grasped it. Tip was spun around and tried his best to avoid Dark Pit's slit eyes. "I was just about to—"

"I know," Dark Pit interrupted him, tightening his grip. "You know, I'm quite possessive. What's mine is _mine_ , got that? Now tell me what you two talked about out there, because I'm not stupid enough to believe that it was all about the weather."

Tip turned pale. "I really should go…"

The dark angel shook his head and secured his two shoulders so that he couldn't escape the conversation. He wanted answers, right there and then; no waiting, no evading this time. Zeus' angel gulped and glanced down at his feet, his gray eyes filling with fright—he could feel just how threatening Dark Pit was, and how much he wished he could hurt him. At the same time, he was aware that he wouldn't do it, since Palutena and Pit were also in the room. Tip hesitated before looking into Dark Pit's eyes, which were sharp but not… aggressive any longer.

The darker version of Pit slightly frowned and weakened his hold. "To be fair, I don't really care about what you talked about. I'm just wondering why you were on the verge of tears when you walked in with Pit, and I must say that I'm starting to like both of you, with Blapi. Well… Don't quote me on that."

"Y-You like me?" Tip asked, incredulous, and that caused Dark Pit to roll his eyes.

"And there we go. Isn't that the discovery of the millenium? You should seriously consider writing a book about it—something like: 'The Tale of the Dark Angel with a Heart'. I'm sure that would sell."

Tip chuckled.

* * *

 _To be continued…_


	30. Chapter 29: Malicious omen

_**Hello everyone! I am laaaaaaate, I realize. To be true with you, I've been extremely busy lately. I hope the wait will have been worth it!**_

 _ **Without further ado, I'll let you dive right into this!**_

 _ **Yours truly, Circle of J.**_

* * *

 **Disclaimer: ****I do not own the characters, although I took some liberties with both Tip and Blapi. The deities mentioned are taken from Greek Mythology, remastered the way I imagine them. What I own, on the other hand, is the plot.**

* * *

 **Kid Icarus: Heirs of the Light**

* * *

 _Chapter 29: Malicious omen_

* * *

 _"Pittoo, wake up,"_ Pit's voice arose, and the dark angel blinked his eyes open. He had no idea where he was: it was dark all around, except for his beloved idiot standing in front of him. Dark Pit flapped his wings and clung to his own head, since he was victim of a rough, unprecedented headache. Had something happened? The last thing he could remember was reading that book in the library… in Skyworld, if he was correct. After that, Pit had entered the room and asked if he wanted to go to bed with him, but his darker half had admitted that he felt tired and wanted to focus on the book. His lighter half had nodded and told that he would be waiting, and then… what? Dark Pit shut his eyes and tried to concentrate, while he kept his head between his hands. He managed to sit up, under Pit's supervision, and collected his thoughts on the matter. Had he fallen asleep, was he dreaming? Why did this feel so real then?

Pit cleared his throat, which caused Dark Pit to glance at him, and the white angel fluttered his wings. _"Pittoo, look at what we did together! Look behind you!"_

Dark Pit furrowed his brows, wondering what he was talking about, and spun around. His mouth dropped: the Overworld was reduced to fires and bloodsheds. The skies flashed red, a bone-chilling tint of red that reminded him of Medusa's upsurge. Wait, her upsurge? Had it happened? Were they defeated? The dark angel gasped in sheer terror at the thought; what would happen now? They were supposed to stop her, how were they beaten?! Destiny didn't have it that way! They couldn't lose against her, it was impossible! Dark Pit felt panic taking over him and wrapped his dark teal wings around his body, in case something would attack him. No… He would never accept it. He was still standing, and he would never allow Medusa to reign over the Universe. What about Hades, where was he? Persephone had said that he wouldn't let Medusa take over the Universe, then where was he? Perhaps she had lied…

The angel gritted his teeth, and heard swift footsteps coming up to him. He knew it was Pit, but somehow even he frightened him. He wasn't himself, there was something off with the way he behaved… His Pit would never look out in awe at the spectacle before them. His Pit would be outraged! He would pick up his weapons and head to the Underworld without wasting any time! Why was he so different? It had to be a nightmare… Dark Pit closed his eyes and attempted to ignore the bloodcurdling screams of the humans below… but he couldn't, they were too heartbreaking. He had to do something to save them, there ought to be a way out of this.

Pit eyed at Dark Pit and inhaled the pain-filled air that surrounded them. _"It sure is relaxing. Queen Medusa wasn't lying, she—"_

"What in the Underworld is wrong with you, Pit? That's not what I'd call relaxing," Dark Pit reacted, not listening to what his other half was saying, for he didn't care. This… fake could be saying all that he wanted; he had to find the real Pit, wherever he was. He hoped that he hadn't been killed and replaced by this monster… If he had, then he would never get over it. Why had he been asleep so long though? And why this headache? Could it be that his connection with Pit had… broken after a while? Could it be that a God had saved him—when they really shouldn't have, whoever they were? Perhaps that explained it… This atrocious creature standing next to him wasn't his Pit, it was a reflection; much like what Palutena thought Dark Pit had been in the past. A dark, twisted version of his Pit, wearing the same exact clothes, but bearing strangely empty blue eyes that didn't fit him at all.

Pit smiled at the question, and also at the silence that had followed it, and eventually answered with: _"Nothing is wrong with me, Pittoo. I am a changed angel, Queen Medusa has opened my eyes. Her Darkness, Pittoo, it isn't what we thought: it is a liberation! She freed my soul from eternal torment! I am truly, sincerely relieved! All my duties are gone, all my responsibilities—"_

"Your eyes are blue, I don't buy it." Pit became silent as soon as he heard those words. His skin turned paler than it already was, and he began to sweat. Dark Pit, on the other hand, was rather enraged. "Tell me this: where is Palutena?"

 _"Dead, just like she is in your dimension."_ Dark Pit frowned; he had never told him that… How could he know? What was wrong with the Pit he was talking to? It wasn't… his Pit, was it? But those blue eyes… What exactly was happening? Before he had time to give it a thought, Pit continued: _"It reestablished an order, a balance in this Universe. See? Queen Medusa didn't want to spread Evil, Pittoo! She wanted justice and order, just like_ we _wanted! We just hadn't been fighting on the right side, but she was benevolent and agreed to help us_ see _."_

The dark angel gritted his teeth and clenched his fists before sighing through his nose. 'Us', he said? Dark Pit didn't feel Medusa's presence in his own body… Or perhaps it was meant that way? Perhaps she had ensured that they wouldn't feel 'violated'? What better way to possess someone than to make them believe that they are still in control? It was… sick and vicious, and that was definitely something that resembled Medusa. Dark Pit cringed and looked at his hands in fear; his veins were pulsating with a blood that was blacker than the sun above their heads.

Maybe that was it; maybe she had controlled him, once and for all. He couldn't help but feel disheartened; he had been fighting it for decades, always succeeding at keeping it at bay, yet he had succumbed to it during his slumber. She had taken advantage of his powerlessness to force his soul to surrender—and rightfully so, since she had managed to do it. Perhaps it was better this way. With this poison running through his body, he wouldn't be alive for long, and he would be able to find Pit in the Heavens. Because no matter what this usurper said, the dark angel knew that Pit was dead, and that this… freak in nature was a wicked version of him, crafted by Medusa herself.

Dark Pit stared at the town under his eyes and noticed a ray of hope amongst the crowd: Magnus was there, with a woman clinging to his arm. He had no idea who she was, but she seemed to be close to the human. Somehow, the darker version of Pit himself felt close to her, even though he was certain that he had never seen her before. She wore a wedding dress, torn apart and looking like nothing but a white rag, and her long, wavy red hair stopped half way down her back. He admitted that she was charming, but she appeared to be quite overwhelmed by the situation. While Magnus was taking out Underworld monsters, she was hiding her face and whimpering. Didn't she know how to fight? Or maybe she was too scared to try… The dark angel's wings stretched out, since he wanted to go and help them, but he felt Pit's hand on his shoulder. _"Don't bother, Pittoo. They are humans: they ought to die, like the others."_

"Magnus and Charis are our friends," Dark Pit countered—how did he say? Charis? Was that the name of that woman? For a second, he wondered how he had guessed it. So he knew her, since he considered her his friend… When did they meet? Who was she? Wasn't Charis the Goddess of Fertility? But this girl was a human! She couldn't be a Goddess, so what was happening to him, where did he get that name? Strangely… specific name, additionally. He didn't think it was a coincidence…

Pit shook his head, a tendered smile on his lips, and replied: _"Charis and Magnus can't be kept alive. Queen Medusa's reign doesn't include humans. I know that you were close to them, love, but—"_

Dark Pit snarled, interrupting him. "Don't ever call me 'love', you abomination."

 _"Why would you call me that?"_ Pit reacted, his blue eyes filling with a sort of sadness that didn't resemble that of Pit. He was… abnormally amused, despite trying to come off as heartbroken by those words. Dark Pit wasn't stupid enough not to notice the sly smirk on his lips. _"That's not very nice, you know. I thought you loved me?"_

The dark angel refused to answer and, instead, focused on the two humans who craved for his help. No, he didn't love that Pit, he didn't love that monstrous thing. He loved and yearned for the real Pit, the one who had disappeared… The one he wished he could see again. The one he had shared countless nights with, the one he wanted to marry despite the fact that he knew they would be separated forever… That thing, standing next to him, was nothing like this angel. Nothing like the Angel of the Sun. Dark Pit gritted his teeth and ran towards the edge of the dark room that they both stood in, jumping off of it and taking flight under Pit's screams to hold him back. The dark angel didn't know how, but his wings allowed him to fly on his own it seemed… And it appeared that he knew that, since he had run off of the platform without a tinge of fear in his heart.

The dark angel flew towards the city and landed amongst the crowd of Reapers, who didn't even look at him. Of course, since his aura was eaten by the power of Medusa's darkness, they wouldn't consider him a threat. Too bad for them, because they would certainly be taken by surprise. He would work to their disadvantage, which wasn't such a bad thing.

Dark Pit pulled out his Silver Bow and aimed it at the Reapers, shooting them and killing them instantly with how powerful his arrows had become. Palutena's improvements had been much needed; now he could kill off any enemy in one shot, and it was less tiring to steer the actual arrows than it had been in the past. The horde of Reapers turned to him, flabbergasted, and didn't have time to react before the angel lashed out at their bodies with two extremely hot purple blades. They were easily dealt with, and Dark Pit turned to meet Magnus' cautious eyes. He tightened his grip around the hilt of his gigantic sword, and Charis clung to his right arm even more than before. Were they… scared of him? Well, it shouldn't have been a surprise, since his soul was corrupted… but it didn't hurt less.

Magnus squinted his eyes at his former friend and ally, and threatened him with his sword. "Dark angel, if you take a step, you're dead."

"Wow, such a nice way to greet an old friend! I see that you've gotten better at it!" Dark Pit sneered, though he really wasn't amused in any way. He brought his blades together, clicked them to form his Silver Bow, and attached it to his shoulder strap. The weapon hidden behind his back, out of reach, he held out his hands and raised them in the air, to show that he was not their enemy. The two humans blinked, confused, and Charis let go of Magnus' arm. She hesitantly took a step forward, stretching her arm, but pulled back when Dark Pit's eyes turned to her. The woman stayed there, motionless, as though she had been turned to stone. The dark angel placed his hands on his hips and smirked. "You guys sure look like you missed me—which I do appreciate."

Magnus, who stood behind Charis and watched over her in a protective manner, frowned. "Why would we be happy to see _you_? Has Medusa sent you here to kill us? Because she's the only one you obey now, isn't she?"

Dark Pit laughed humorlessly. "First and foremost: I am servant to no other but myself. Second of all: I am not here to kill you, quite the opposite. Finally: where is Pit?"

The human turned pale when he heard his final question, for he himself didn't know what happened to the angel of light. He scratched his elbow, deciding to lower his guard and put away his weapon—it was still pretty heavy, so he'd rather not hold it out at someone who wouldn't hurt them—before he glanced at Charis. The woman moved back, standing next to him, and Magnus started explaining the situation: "Well, you remember that Palutena was killed, right?"

"I don't actually remember but so I was told."

Magnus nodded, although he was perplexed by Dark Pit's sudden amnesia. But he decided not to question it; Medusa's armies were still on their way and they would have very little time to talk things out. "Okay. Pit disappeared after the Goddess of Light was down, and then you fell into a sort of coma… or something. Charis and I kept you on the Overworld with us, to make sure that you'd not die, and it took you several months to wake up."

Dark Pit raised his hand, which signified that he wanted to intervene, and asked one of the main questions that boggled his mind: "How did I wake up? Did a God save me?"

"Yeah, Hermes. Not this Hermes, another one, probably from your dimension because he said he knew you—It's really fucking complicated… That portal that your precious Palutena has opened has disrupted everything!" Magnus cried out in anger, and Dark Pit raised an eyebrow before showing him the necklace, brightly glowing, that he still had around his wrist. Without it, Palutena couldn't open up a portal, which meant that it wasn't her doing…

Dark Pit could only think about one Goddess who could've done such a thing: Medusa herself, with the help of Hermes that she had under her control. But then, against all odds, his Hermes had come out of it… and apparently saved him. The dark angel gritted his teeth, pissed off. "If he thinks that's gonna be enough to get me back, he's fucking wrong."

"I really think he just wanted to hel—"

"I _know_ him, Magnus," Dark Pit interrupted him, his eyes blazing with a secret rage that he tried to suppress. He was aware that Hermes was trying to get him back, but his sweet intentions wouldn't fool him. After what he had done, what he had put him through, the darker version of Pit would never allow him to get a hold on him ever again—he'd rather die than work for him. "I won't fall for it, he can go right off in another dimension—hopefully one that is lost afterwards, so that I won't have to deal with his infuriating existence ever again."

Dark Pit turned away from Magnus, absolutely outraged, and noticed that Pit was looking at him, a few feet away. Perhaps he had listened to their conversation, but why would he care? This imposter didn't deserve the slightest of attention. Magnus, on the other hand, appeared shocked and urged Charis to stay behind him. The usurper walked up to Dark Pit, trailing his hand on his cheek, and smiled softly, almost lovingly. His blue eyes gleamed with admiration, with desire, with great care that his darker half refused to see. Why did he think that he was different? Why did he try to convince himself that they were different? They were as they had always been, even though he didn't have the same body anymore.

Medusa had used the original Pit's soul, and it was shining within him—he was the real Pit! The Goddess of Darkness hadn't damaged his personality, his personal convictions, nor tarnished his heart in the slightest. If anything, she had made them all stronger, she had infused some of her own determination within himself; he was nothing but a better version of the real Pit. A genuinely improved twin.

Dark Pit slapped his hand off of his cheek, but Pit had to insist; why did he want to break them? They could be happy together, Medusa had said that she allowed them to stay together in this dimension. For that, she had created another angel, which she had brought into Dark Pit's origin world. Now, Pit and Dark Pit fully belonged to each other—until the very end of Time. _"Pittoo, why do you constantly repel me?"_

"Don't you touch me, you monster!" Dark Pit snarled, and he lost his temper when Pit touched his cheek again. He narrowed his eyes and punched the other angel right across the face. The lighter version fell to the ground, taken aback, and shook his head in disbelief. He couldn't believe it… Was it really how it had to end? Dark Pit glowered at him, a raging fire consuming his red rubies. "You are a fake, you are Medusa's creation, and I won't allow you to get close to me! WHERE IS THE REAL PIT?!"

 _"But, love, that's me—"_

"I told you not to call me that, you freak!" Dark Pit let out a dark, guttural laugh and vigorously shook his head. "And no, oh no you're not the real Pit. That's one thing I'm deeply convinced of."

Pit frowned, hurt by those words that he hoped he would never have to hear, and sprung back to his feet once he had recovered from the attack. He wiped his chiton, overwhelmed by the situation that was getting out of control. Why was Dark Pit so rebellious all of a sudden? When he had picked him up, he appeared to be happy that he could stay with him forever… and now, he wanted to leave. He wanted to find the 'real' Pit—even though he was right there standing before him… Had Dark Pit lost his mind? Pit bit his lower lip, feeling bad for his darker half; maybe there was a way he could help him? Maybe his undying love and affection for him could save him? Aphrodite had said that Love was stronger than anything… So maybe it could also overpower Dark Pit's amnesia?

The dark angel eyed at Magnus, who was beyond puzzled, and looked down in desperation. Where was his Pit? Could it be that this monster really was him? No… "What has Medusa done to you, if you're the real Pit? Why are your eyes still blue when you claim to be _enlightened_ by her darkness?!" he asked, though it was more rhetorical than anything. He didn't want an answer, he didn't want to know what had happened to him… It would be way too painful, as if he was directly attending Pit's execution without doing anything to save him. The dark angel shuddered at the thought and imagined the scene as though it was happening before his eyes. Horrified, he stepped back, nearly falling to the ground, but Pit had caught him before he could. Dark Pit rapidly stood up and violently pushed the usurper away from him, groaning in anger. "Your Forces took him, didn't they? Medusa killed him! Is that it? She slaughtered him, she cut off his wings, she made him bleed out on the cold ground as you watched? You devious creature, you are nothing but his shadow, aren't you?!"

Pit looked deadpanned until a smile flashed on his lips. _"So what if I was? I would still be Pit to some extent, right?"_ Dark Pit's eyes widened in fear, but the lighter angel proceeded with his detailed explanation of the real Pit's execution—which Medusa had told him about, since he wasn't yet alive when it happened. Medusa had been benevolent enough to give him another chance in another body… He was infinitely grateful for that. Pit cleared his throat, tears filling his eyes as he started to explain: _"One of the angel commanders had kidnapped him and brought him to Queen Medusa's castle, in the Underworld. She wanted to subdue him but he refused, so she had to put him through… torture…"_

Pit shivered, as though he could feel the stabs in his own body again, but didn't let that dishearten him. Under Dark Pit's petrified expression, he kept on with his retelling: _"He was fiercer than she had thought, so she had to… make things worse; she wanted to force his submission, so she… tried to get him to succumb to Darkness. She infused his soul with a great load of it, but… instead of giving in to it, he committed suicide. But it's okay! He's in me now, he lives through me! Queen Medusa gave him another chance to be good, by giving him a new body—my own! I'm the real Pit, Pittoo, it's me!"_

"H-How dare y-you call yourself him…? You… demon…" Dark Pit whispered, out of breath…

* * *

.oOo.

* * *

… before his eyes opened abruptly.

Dark Pit gasped for air, his hair all over his face, and sat up in the bed, in the middle of the night. It had been a nightmare… He should've known, but it had felt so realistic that he had lost himself in it. The dark angel's wings fluttered and he wiped his face, sighing. He wouldn't be able to sleep again, with all that had happened, with what he had heard. Dark Pit slightly tilted his head to the right, where Pit was lying down, sound asleep. He couldn't hold back a smile at his sight: he was drooling, laying down on his side and his deep, relaxed breathing was the only sound that filled the room.

From what Dark Pit could tell, it was around two in the morning, since the moon was so high up in the sky. He pulled down the blankets, sliding out of bed, and walked to the bathroom silently to rinse his face. He tried his best not to concentrate on his nightmare, but it had felt all too genuine, too honest. Did he have a vision? No… He could only see the past, and even that hadn't happened in weeks. Perhaps it was just his worry expressing itself in dreams…

The angel glanced at himself in the mirror, struck by the heavy bags under his eyes. "It's okay, Dark Pit… It was all just a dream…" he tried to convince himself, looking down at the sink, and he slightly winced when he met his own eyes again. Since his skin was naturally paler than that of Pit, his bags was even more striking and he loathed it. His eyes also seemed to pop out a lot more… He sighed and rinsed his face again, rubbed his eyes with the cold water, before reaching out for the towel. He wiped his face with it, disheveled his hair as well and ran his fingers through it once he was done. It was messier than it normally was, and that was what he needed: change. A haircut could really make a difference, and he didn't want to look at himself again and relive the nightmare from the mere sight of his hair. Dark Pit then took a deep breath, closed his eyes and eliminated the images of his nightmare from his mind. He never wanted to see them again, whatever they meant.

The dark angel headed back to the bedroom, where Pit was still sleeping, and decided that he wouldn't try to sleep again, because it was straight up pointless. So he walked over to Pit, laid out a gentle kiss on his forehead, and briefly ran his fingers through his hazel hair. "Rest… I'll be back soon," he whispered under his breath, earning a slight moan from his lover. Since he didn't want to wake him up just yet, Dark Pit went for the doors, gently pushed them so that they didn't make a sound, and headed out. If he spent a little time in the gardens, perhaps he would be able to think about something else—like their mission, for instance. He followed the usual path, sneaking through the corridors leading to the main hall, and came across two Centurions who were guarding the doors to the gardens. They weren't supposed to be outside during the night, since the darkness was so present, but Dark Pit desperately needed some time out in the open.

The Centurions glanced at him, surprised to see him up, and told him that they couldn't grant him access. The dark angel begged them to let him through, that it was only for five minutes, and he was so insistent that they ended up agreeing—because they knew that, if they didn't, they'd get beaten up. Dark Pit thanked them and walked out, his bare feet touching the pavement. He felt instantly better, as if a thousand pounds had been lifted off of his shoulders. The cold breeze brushed through his hair, kissed his skin and Dark Pit sighed in delight. He walked towards their favorite bench, where he sat down and gazed out at the star-sprinkled sky.

The navy blue color of the Heavens brought a sense of security, of belonging to the angel's heart, so much so that he couldn't help but stare at it. There, amongst the stars, under the eye of the moon, he felt home. He closed his eyes for a second, inhaling the sweet scent of the trees under the night sky, and relaxed, forgetting about everything. His nightmare was long gone, and he had to say that he wouldn't miss it. His mind wandered off, until he managed to focus on a particular subject: his mission with Pit. They needed to find a human who could mate with Magnus—'mating' not necessarily meaning 'loving', in their case. It was all for the preservation of their species, perhaps they would be obliging. The angel couldn't help but think about that human woman in his nightmare, Charis. He didn't know if she existed, and he sincerely hoped that she didn't. But how could he have imagined her? She was so detailed… Perhaps he was more creative than he thought himself to be.

That was the only viable explanation, right? Right, right.

Dark Pit eyed at the moon and soon realized that the Centurions were there, asking him to go back inside. The dark angel grunted but complied, flapping his wings to manifest his frustration. He had only been out for two minutes… barely. He knew the dangers that came with being exposed to darkness for too long, but he didn't think that he had overdone it. Nonetheless, he headed back inside the palace along with the two Centurions.

When they walked in, Palutena was there—those two brain-depraved soldiers had probably woken her up since he wasn't coming back. The Goddess of Light appeared to be reassured when she saw the dark angel enter, and invited him to the hot spring. He would've refused, but knew that it was necessary, and also that it was an invitation to a whole another thing: it was time for some 'light cure', or however he could call it from now on.

Because he had been stuck in the dark for three days in the Underworld, Medusa's influence had grown noticeably stronger, which definitely wore him out. Palutena had suggested to try and diminish its strength with her light powers, and Dark Pit had to say that it was a decent idea. So, he had accepted to commit to it: two times a day, he was to take a hot spring bath, and then he would have to ask for Palutena's assistance once a day for complementary healing. Since it was easy enough, he had had nothing to add. The Goddess of Light led him through the palace, because it was hard to see where he was going, and opened the doors to her quarters. She then walked to the bathroom and pushed the door to reveal the glowing, golden water of the hot spring. "Here, make yourself at home; I'll be back in a minute."

"Got it."

Dark Pit took off his chiton and scarf, but kept on his undergarments, since he didn't really want to be naked in front of Palutena. Although he completely trusted her, he still kept a 'professional distance' with her. Also, he was pretty uncomfortable with his body, all because of that other human… So, he refrained from being naked in the presence of someone as a general rule. Only Pit was an exception, for obvious reasons. The dark angel wrapped his wings around his body, still a little embarrassed, and stepped in the hot spring. As soon as the hot water touched his skin, he let out a sigh and sat in it. He rested against the wall, leaning his head back and using it for support, and closed his eyes to take in the sweet, intoxicating feeling of the warm water around him.

Too soon, Palutena was back with a black towel. She had made sure to pick a darker-colored one, because she knew her little goth angel quite well. To her delight, Dark Pit opened an eye and nodded at her wise choice of towel. The Goddess of Light knelt down next to the hot spring, making sure that her dress wasn't soaked, and watched the dark angel relax. His body transpired with dark energy, yet he was still hanging on. She knew that he was strong-willed, but it still managed to surprise her. Just how much could he take before breaking? She wished that she would never see it, but she was still wondering, because she had no idea how she would feel if that happened. She would be quite disarmed…

Dark Pit caught her attention when he shook his head, though he had his eyes shut tightly. He blinked them open and dived right into those of green of the Goddess of Light. "What's wrong, Pittoo?"

Dark Pit's wings dropped when he answered: "I had a nightmare and I can't seem to get over it."

"Would you like to tell me what it was about?" Palutena asked, although she wouldn't force him if he didn't feel like it. Nightmares could be quite frightening, and talking about them could bring back terrible memories to the dreamer. All that she wanted was to protect him, from everything that could be a threat to him. He was her protégé, to so many extents… She had disliked him for a great part of his life, but when she had learnt who he really was, she had felt sympathy.

Dark Pit looked off to the side, sighing heavily, and the Goddess of Light was just about to suggest that he dropped the subject when he started expressing his worries. "Perhaps telling you could help me convince myself that it was just a nightmare, so I'll give it a shot. It was Pit, he had supposedly succumbed to Medusa's powers and died after you had been killed. It's… confusing, even to me… I met his… twin—some creation that Medusa based off of him. He said that he was Pit, that his soul was living inside him, that he had been given another chance… I don't understand, it's frightened me…"

"Pit was not himself anymore?"

"No, he was in a new body… I don't know how and why it was created, but… I'll figure it out. Perhaps if I get to see this monstrosity again, I can ask him where he comes from."

Palutena frowned and thought about it. In the meantime, she decided to ask another question: "Was there something else in the dream that would be worth mentioning?"

Dark Pit looked at her and tried his best to remember. His eyes lit with realization when he recalled seeing Magnus with that girl, Charis, on the surface. The dark angel's wings perked up and he turned his attention to the Goddess of Light. "Yes, there was also Magnus with a woman, on the Overworld, fighting Underworld monsters… They said I was possessed too, but I didn't feel like it. I felt like my usual self."

Palutena nodded, attentive, and listened to his every words to decipher the meaning behind these horrific images. "Oftentimes, dreams are the manifestation of the dreamer's insecurities," she explained, which caused Dark Pit to look up at her with a deadpanned expression. The Goddess shrugged it off, since she hadn't expected less, and continued: "I think I hit the nail right on the head, but I'd rather ask anyways: you are scared of losing Pit, aren't you, Pittoo?"

The dark angel's wings jerked up when she asked that question, and he jolted on the spot. "Yeah, of course I am, he's all I have. Do you think this… creature could be a twisted representation of that fear?"

"Yes," the Goddess of Light nodded. "Perhaps seeing him in another body, which is under Medusa's orders, represents your fright of losing him to her powers. Since you have been traumatized by what happened to Aphrodite in your own dimension, it could come directly from that: you're probably scared of witnessing your loved ones' fall again. And because we're growing all the more closer to the final battle with Medusa… it shows in your dreams."

"You really think that's just that? No… vision, or premonition, or anything?"

"Don't you worry, Pittoo."

Dark Pit allowed himself to breathe. Perhaps she was right, in which case he needed to relax. Well, maybe he should've known that it couldn't be a vision, since he had never had any of these in the past. The one thing that could really comfort him would be to find a woman for Magnus who wasn't called Charis. That way, it would definitely be a nightmare that wouldn't come true. He sincerely hoped that this human woman was the fruit of his imagination… But somehow, he couldn't believe it, his heart told him that he would be lying to himself. He just knew that there was more to this nightmare that met the eye…

Dark Pit shut his eyes and gulped; no, he shouldn't think that, he shouldn't. He shook his head, knocking down his thoughts, and looked at Palutena. "Thanks."

"I'm happy to reassure you."

Dark Pit decided not to tell her that she hadn't fully succeeded, and instead told her that he was ready for the light treatment. The Goddess tied her hair up so that it wouldn't meet the water when she leaned forward, pressing her hands on Dark Pit's temples. She demanded that he relaxed, which he found rather easy to do, and her hands started glowing with a bright golden light enveloping her fingers. She diffused it throughout his body, sending shivers down his spine. It felt absolutely delicious, he had to say that he couldn't get enough of it; it was warm, inviting, charming, all at the same time. If he had been into girls, perhaps he would've been captivated.

The dark angel let out shy moans of ease, which made the Goddess chuckle under her breath. She could only imagine how good he must have felt, considering that this darkness that he kept fighting was being replaced with a warm ray of sunshine. It sure was less painful, since he didn't have to fight against that one. For one of the first times in an eternity, Dark Pit's soul could finally be still and watch as someone was fighting off the monster within.

Footsteps arose behind Palutena, and she looked over her shoulder to see that Blapi was there, shyly walking up to them. He wasn't a very heavy sleeper, quite the opposite: he was always the first angel awake. He would often visit the Goddess of Light early in the morning, to make sure that she was safe and sound. He cared so much about everyone around the palace, even the Centurions! He would often walk up to them and make small talk. Although he was shy when it came to Dark Pit, he was rather outgoing with Tip. Palutena couldn't exactly tell for Pit though, since the two had never really talked to each other at all, but it would probably be just as easy as it was with Tip.

Blapi sat down on the edge of the hot springs, dipping his feet in the warm water, and watched carefully the dark angel who kept on moaning. The green-attired angel glanced at Palutena. "Is he okay?"

"Yes, though we shouldn't talk. He's relaxing, he needs silence," The Goddess of Light answered, to which Blapi only nodded and looked back at Dark Pit. The dark angel's teal wings were wrapped around his own self and Palutena, and his facial features seemed utterly calm, which was out of his character. He looked so peaceful… Blapi felt his cheeks burn at the sight of him.

The green-attired angel had noticed that this one was always frustrated, always pissed off, always annoyed, so seeing him smiling and truly enjoying himself was different, but refreshing. He remembered the smile that he had seen on his face when he had looked at him in the gardens and blushed; he liked him. Dark Pit was surely the angel that he admired the most in the little crowd, for he didn't have time to talk to Pit—who was the second hero of this story, according to reliable sources—the author. Tip was a funny angel, but he was not interesting; he didn't have conversation. Dark Pit on the other hand, even though he didn't know much about him, was a literate angel, who loved to read and learn new things. Despite his cold attitude, Blapi was sure that he was very interesting to listen to: he probably knew a thousand different stories inside out. And that was something that fascinated Viridi's messenger above all others; he had the ability to talk and make it worth something.

Blapi slightly jumped when Dark Pit opened his ruby orbs and looked at him askance. Well, there was still a bit of hostility between them… "What's he doing here?" the dark angel groaned at the Goddess of Light.

Palutena shrugged. "Oh, he wanted to make sure that you were okay."

Dark Pit glared at Blapi and sighed in defeat. Palutena drew back, since she was done with the healing process—she couldn't do too much at a time, or else she would take the risk of damaging the dark angel's soul, since it had been accommodated to the darkness within—and that allowed Dark Pit to stare coldly at his green counterpart. "I'm fine," he informed him, then he stood up and pulled the towel close to his body. That way, he ensured that the other would not look too intensely at his crotch area. He wrapped himself in it, dried his skin, and brought it to his hair to ruffle it again. Blapi gazed at him, enthralled by the sight, and snapped out of his trance to eye at Palutena. The Goddess had went back to her bed, sitting on its edge, and waited for Dark Pit to walk out.

The dark angel kept the towel with him, since it was soaked, and put on his chiton over his drenched undergarments… He sighed but didn't mention it. He put on his various jewels: his cuffs on his forearms and his precious thigh ring, which he never took off unless he had to bathe. He quickly snatched his belt and fastened it around his well-defined waist, but he grunted when he caught Blapi's ogling eyes on him. "And what do you think you're looking at?!" he snapped at Viridi's angel, who took a step back.

Dark Pit sighed and stormed out of Palutena's quarters without a word for her. He had to make a detour at the laundry room, where he put the towel and his undergarments. He rummaged through his belongings to find new ones that were dry, those ones being yellow, and wore them with pure disgust. _Yellow…_ Of _all_ colors, it had to be _yellow_ that he picked. It definitely reminded him of Hermes—which was the last thing he wanted. Dark Pit sighed and cursed his bad luck for wearing such an ugly pair of undergarments, before he almost ran off to the room that he shared with Pit.

When he came in—not in a very silent fashion, he had to admit—Pit was already out of bed. The bed sheets looked like they had been thrown off of the bed rapidly and without a care, which resembled Pit in so many ways. The dark angel tapped his foot on the ground, waiting for his lighter half to get out of the bathroom, where he assumed he was. Rightfully so, since Palutena's captain opened the door and walked out of the bathroom with nothing but a white towel around his waist to cover his genitals. Dark Pit leered at him, licking his lips, and cleared his throat when he realized that his other hadn't seen him. Pit jumped and his cheeks turned red. "P-Pittoo, I thought you were out!"

"I'm glad I wasn't~…" Dark Pit responded.

The lighter angel blushed even more and walked up to him, hesitating before hugging him close. Dark Pit smiled and buried his face in Pit's hair, which smelled like vanilla since he had just washed it. He sighed at the delicious scent of those wild, hazel strands and ran his fingers in them. He grabbed one of them and curled it around his finger, taking in its wondrous smell with lustful desires. Pit looked up after a moment and sealed their lips in a kiss, before he asked worriedly: "Where have you been? I have been up for twenty minutes and you were gone."

Dark Pit shrugged his shoulder, playing it off as though nothing important had occurred. "Well, doesn't matter. I feel _lighter_ today, sweetheart~."

"Good, we'll need that for our mission on the Overworld," Pit said, grinning sheepishly because he really didn't want to get down to business this late in the night. The bedsheets could wait, they had to go back to sleep, because he was still tired. The Angel of the Sun tugged at Dark Pit's hand and attempted to lead him back to bed, but the dark angel showed reluctance. He took a step back, recoiled his hand and shook his head. Pit frowned, surprised by that behavior. "Pittoo, are you sure that you're okay? You're not acting right…"

Dark Pit gulped and looked off, turning his back to Pit. "I'm fine, I need to go to the library. I just remembered about a book that I wanted to read," he lied; well-thought, perhaps Pit wouldn't look further into this. At least, he hoped so. Just like he expected, Pit just nodded and said that it was okay, that he understood. Thinking that he would leave it at that, the dark angel walked out of the room and, upon closing the door, Pit called him out and told him to wait.

Dark Pit opened the door again, his hand still clinging to the handle, and he looked over his shoulder. Pit had sat on the bed, with the necklace in his hands, and glanced at his lover from there. He asked if he could maybe join him, because he wasn't sure that he would be able to sleep without a presence next to him. Dark Pit sneered and replied: 'What, are you scared of the dark?', to which Pit only pouted. Nonetheless, the darker version gladly accepted, and they both went straight for the library.

Pit attached the necklace around his neck, keeping the stone hidden under his loosely-worn white scarf, and followed Dark Pit to their destination. He admitted that he wasn't feeling so safe, considering that the halls were plunged in somberness, and thus his twin—sick of his constant whining—agreed to light up a candle of his choice. Pit was excited at the idea, but soon found out that it wasn't really his choice at all: every time he would suggest a candle, Dark Pit would say that he didn't like it, and would give alternate options. In the end, they both chose to stick with a candle which had a rose fragrance. Pit said that he liked it better, and the dark angel ended up giving in.

After Dark Pit had lit it and placed it on the armrest of the seat that was there, he sat down and grabbed a book with some of those letters on it—very similar to that which Tip and Pit had worked with on the alphabet. Together, at the dim light of a candle and the additional pinkish glow of the necklace, they started to look at each and every letter in order and randomly, to test Pit's knowledge of them. He could identify most of them, since he had been a good student and had kept reading about them sometimes, and Dark Pit pulled up a page with a letter—that Pit knew to be the 'C'—which looked an awful lot like a ring without its end. He plunged back in his memories of when he himself was a ring, and his mind started to wander off.

Those were memories of a time where none of this existed to him, where his dimension was the only one to be, where Dark Pit was to be his archnemesis forever, where… he was an angel serving the Goddess of Light for no other purpose than to protect her from outside threats that were bigger than her—both in size and power. It was a time when he was oblivious to the atrocious pain of the world, to the unbalancing of the Universe that was happening unbeknownst to anyone, and to the fact that Dark Pit was no clone. Pit smiled when he thought back about them; those were times of prosperity, of hopes of a better future.

Dark Pit asked another question about the letter 'C' and realized that he was talking to himself. Irritated, he eyed at Pit, who was starting to doze off, and sneered: "Aw, has Sleeping Beauty's finger been pricked again?"

Pit looked up, humming questionably, and rubbed his eyes with his hands. "I'm falling asleep."

"I've noticed," Dark Pit snickered, then he wrapped his wings around his lighter half's body. They were just big enough to hold him, and thus give him a sort of feathery blanket to keep him warm. He closed the book that he still had in his hands and put it back in the bookshelf it belonged to. "Well, I suppose reading session's over for tonight. Just don't fall into a hundred-years-long slumber, because Medusa would have certainly attacked by then."

"I'm too tired to try and understand what you're saying."

"Aw, come on! We even read that story together! You really don't pay much attention to what we do together, how disappointing…" his darker half pouted.

The lighter angel sighed and thought about it, trying to remember when that had happened. They read a story about a princess falling into a deep sleep? Suddenly, Pit remembered their reading at the lake when they left Magnus behind: the princess in that story had had her finger pricked and that caused her to fall asleep… Maybe that was what Dark Pit was referencing? But Pit couldn't recall if she had fallen asleep that long or not… all he could remember was that she was raped by the prince at the end—but it surely wasn't the true ending of that story. Because it was… yucky. That story was supposed to be a nice story!

Pit moaned deeply, drifting to sleep quicker than he'd have thought, and yawned. His eyelids were very heavy and threatened to close any minute—he wasn't sure he could hold them back any longer. "Well, let me remind you that you never told me the real ending to that tale…"

Dark Pit snorted. "But that was the real ending."

"Whatever you say, I'm too tired to argue with you…" With that said, Pit smiled and snuggled into the dark teal feathers, closing his eyes and accepting the fact that he needed to rest for a bit. Despite the fun he had talking about their shared stories with his twin, he yearned for a good night's sleep. He rested his head on Dark Pit's shoulder, listening to his soft, regular breathing, and soon fell asleep.

Dark Pit couldn't hold back a smile and trailed his fingers so that they entwined in Pit's scruffy hair. He laid out a kiss on his forehead and blew out the candle, leaning back in the armchair and shutting his eyes. "Goodnight, Pit-stain," he smirked, his eyes sparkling with affection. "Don't worry though. Even if you _did_ fall into a deep slumber, I would definitely wake you up with a kiss~."

After he had said that, feeling his heart pounding in his chest, he felt himself relax and was quick to follow his lighter half in the realm of dreams.

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 _To be continued…_


	31. Chapter 30: Complications

_**Hello my friends! I am even more late than usual, which I admit is incredible… I have recently lost interest in writing, since I had so many exams for college and it was absolutely breathtaking. Now that that's done, maybe I'll get back into it! For now, I give you two chapters at once, to make up for the lost time! Hopefully the wait will have been worth it!**_

 _ **Yours truly,**_

 _ **Circle of J.**_

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 **Disclaimer:** **I do not own the characters, although I took some liberties with both Tip and Blapi. The deities mentioned are taken from Greek Mythology, remastered the way I imagine them. What I own, on the other hand, is the plot.**

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 **Kid Icarus: Heirs of the Light**

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 _Chapter 30: Complications right off the bat_

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"Pit, honest to the Gods, you are wasting our time!" Dark Pit sighed, pissed off, and he tugged at his lighter twin's cloak.

Pit was talking to a group of humans, asking them if they could show him the game that they were playing—nothing more than a board game with horses and a path to follow. It was only a simple game of ludo, but of course Pit had never seen any of them in his life before and it made him curious. The dark angel tried to pull his lighter half to him so that they could keep walking to Magnus' house, cursing under his breath and gritting his teeth. What had he done to deserve this? It was easy, wasn't it? They had one mission, one goal, why was Pit always doing something else entirely?! Dark Pit insisted and pulled on Pit's arm, however his lighter self showed resistance and begged him to stay with the humans for a little bit—'only a little bit', he said, 'it won't be long', he said. If he hadn't had such a good sleep, Dark Pit would've snapped at him, but he was in a decent mood.

Thus, the dark angel resolved to stay with Pit and watch the three adults roll a wooden dice and move their horses along the colored paths drawn on the board placed at the center of the table. It was really nothing interesting, he didn't understand how Pit could care about it; plus, these humans were not even good at the game.

One of them stood up, annoyed by the fact that he kept drawing ones from the dice, and yelled at his fellow mortals that it was not fair and that it was 'cheating'. Dark Pit rolled eyes and said bluntly that he sucked, to which Pit chuckled and suggested that he should try to roll the dice once, in case it could give luck to the losing human. Dark Pit gave him a stern look and pulled him by the arm, stating that they had wasted enough time, but the Angel of the Sun didn't listen and grabbed the dice from the board. He rolled it in his palm, hoping for good luck, and threw it on the board. Miraculously, it made three whole turns before it landed on six. The humans blinked, astonished, and Pit smiled proudly, asking Dark Pit to look.

The dark angel sighed and shook his head, like an exhausted parent. "Wow, that's outstanding. I'm at a loss for words. _Now_ let's go, Pit."

Pit pouted but accepted to follow him, since he admitted that they had a lot of things left to do. He waved goodbye to the humans and gasped when he was nearly sent to the ground by a mortal that bumped into him. The angel grasped his cloak, ensuring that it would not fall off and reveal his identity, whereas Dark Pit glowered at the human girl who kept on apologizing. She appeared to be rather young, had long, blond hair and fiery orange eyes that took him by surprise. How could humans have such a strange eye color? It was almost as if this woman was an anime character. He remembered that manga… Perhaps was it called _Light and Shadow_ —anyways, that manga that he had read, with the servant girl that had been sent because her mistress refused to marry a duke whom she considered a douche—what was her name already? _Edna_!—well, yes, she looked exactly like her, with longer hair that was. He frowned, taken aback, but this time it was Pit who told him that they should hurry.

The dark angel shook his head and glanced away from the girl, who ran off to another street without a look behind. Trying not to focus on that human girl, Dark Pit walked along the streets while Pit just couldn't stop talking. "I wonder what's Magnus' type of women. I mean, he never really talks about it. If we find someone who looks like Gaol—"

"Whom I have never seen, may I remind you," Dark Pit pointed out, his voice perfectly monotonous.

Pit rolled eyes and pursued: "Well that doesn't matter, because _I_ have seen her. You know, that girl that ran into me? I feel like I've seen her somewhere… Uhm—I meant to say: she kinda looked like Gaol—at least I think so. M-Maybe we should present her to Magnus? Wh-what do you say?" The dark angel squinted his eyes suspiciously but didn't answer, which did nothing but upset his lighter half; he hated to be ignored, and he knew too well that his twin did it on purpose, just so that he could get on his nerves. Pit clenched his fists and sighed through the nose. "You're not helping me right now."

"Oh, because you wanted an answer?" Dark Pit reacted, eyeing at his lighter version and smirking. "Aw, sorry, sweetheart~! I didn't think you wanted my opinion, because if you did then you'd have realized that I don't like her."

"What?" Pit asked, incredulous, and he couldn't hold back his laughter. "But you don't even know her!"

"You've ever seen someone with orange eyes before?" the dark angel sneered, before he placed his hands on his hips and faced Pit. They both stopped in their tracks, standing in the middle of a crowded streets, and stared at each other with both amusement and a tinge of disdain. Sure, most of the time it was all fun and games between them, but on some occasions it would definitely piss them off. Joking around and poking fun at each other was one thing, purposefully challenging the other with harsh comebacks and bitter responses was another. Dark Pit snickered at the absence of reaction from his twin and added: "It's not a very _natural_ thing, now is it?"

The Angel of the Sun gritted his teeth and grunted: "Well, you have red eyes, so talk about natural!"

"But _I_ am infected with Evil, it's _different_!"

"That doesn't mean anything! She can have orange eyes if she wants to!" Pit reacted, protective towards this human girl… He didn't exactly know why and how, but he felt linked with her—as though they had shared something in the past… When he met Dark Pit's slit eyes, the light angel's wings jerked up under his cloak. Some humans turned around when they heard the swift movement of fabric, and the two angels glowered at them so that they quickly returned to whatever they were doing before. The situation would soon go out of hand if they kept on arguing.

Dark Pit clicked his tongue and glared at Pit, who smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his hood in embarrassment. "Well, I didn't expect that to happen… Sorry, Pittoo…"

The darker version of Pit shrugged one shoulder and tugged at his arm. Pit understood the message and, thus, they kept on walking, concentrated on their surroundings. Dark Pit had only been to Magnus' house around three times in total, so he wasn't very comfortable with the directions. His lighter half was a lot more confident when it came to where they were going, but he was too busy glancing all around and gasping at every new thing that he saw out of the corner of his eye. He would sometimes pull Dark Pit inside a shop and show him several things that he would 'like', but the dark angel showed to be so unenthusiastic that he eventually gave up on the idea of pleasing him.

Instead, Pit looked for things that he could bring back to Skyworld as a souvenir, and Dark Pit had to constantly remind him that they were supposed to be on the Overworld for a week or so, and that they would have time later. The light angel nodded, but two minutes later he would run inside a shop again and look at everything.

"Pittoo, over here!" he heard Pit calling him out. Dark Pit paused when the light angel ran back to tug at his arm and pull him in one of those shops. He growled because he nearly lost his cloak and glanced at the merchant, who was chatting with another costumer. It was safe to assume that he hadn't seen Dark Pit's face, which the dark angel was definitely glad about. Pit brought him up to the candle section of the shop and showed him a few of them that he liked, that smelled nice according to him. "Try this one out, it's amazing!" he claimed, thrilled by his discovery.

His twin looked deadpanned but, when Pit insisted, he decided to try some of them. "Whatever pleases thee, thy Majesty," he said ironically. He brought that yellow one up to his nose and admitted that it smelled really nice: a sugary mix of honey and lemon. He eyed at it and back at Pit, telling him that it was fine to buy this one, but that they had to be careful with the money that they spent. They couldn't ask for more from Palutena, for it would raise suspicions amongst the human crowd that they would have to live with. Pit nodded and grabbed another candle, which was blue, and brought it to Dark Pit's nose.

The dark angel looked at him disapprovingly, thinking that he had made himself clear, and took in the delicious scent of that candle: it was like spending a summer night at the beach. Everything was there: from the sand that he could almost touch, the waves that he could hear and the moon above his head—all contained in a single sniff. Dark Pit blinked, curious, and grabbed a few other ones to make up his mind on which to buy. Pit squealed happily when he saw his twin so absorbed by those magical candles and tried a few for himself.

In the end, they ended up buying two candles: the yellow one from the beginning and a light pink one that smelled like a field of flowers. Dark Pit complained because they had spent too much money in his taste, but Pit was nonetheless pleased with the purchase and beamed at his darker version. When his red rubies met the ocean, glistening orbs of his lighter half, the dark angel blushed and looked away briefly. Pit thanked him for buying him those candles, to which he only hummed and said: 'Don't mention it' before resuming their mission.

They walked down several other streets—Dark Pit claiming that they were lost—and found Magnus' house. "Finally, we're here!"

"Finally _indeed_ ," Dark Pit sighed, rolling his red eyes. He was worn out; their walk had been long and the stress of not knowing where he was going had built up inside of him. The dark angel allowed himself to breathe for two seconds, before he looked up at Pit who was apparently concerned. "Also, just so it's clear: we were _definitely_ lost back there. I know we were."

"Right, whatever helps you sleep at night, my Pittoo~!" Pit giggled, his eyes gleaming with happiness.

Dark Pit blinked, absolutely impressed by Pit's witty comeback. "Wow, Pit-stain, what character!" he exclaimed, genuinely surprised—in a very good way. "I didn't think you could be so _bitchy_. If we were alone, I'd make you mine right here and now, on this very pavement~…"

"I'm glad we're not alone then, because I like it better when I'm tops!" Pit chuckled, blushing wildly at the openness of Dark Pit's invitation. He then hurried over to the wooden door and knocked on it, excited that he was going to see his human friend again after such a long time. Magnus took some time before opening the door, and immediately invited them inside. He said that he was reassured to see them both together, because it meant that none of them had died and that was a relief.

Pit went to sit on the couch and showed the candles that he had found with Dark Pit, whereas the latter opened the backpack that he had put over his shoulder and pulled out a book. He sat in a chair, at a fair distance from the two friends, and was quickly engrossed in his reading.

Magnus and Pit didn't bother him and the human frowned, still wondering why the two angels had come to visit him. With the looming threat of Medusa, who was killing thousands of humans per day, they surely had better to do than pay him a friendly visit… It was totally unexpected, he had to say. "Pit, it might come off as rude, but can I ask why you're here? It's not that it bothers me, it's just that it's a strange thing to do in times like these…"

"We're bringing you to Skyworld," Pit answered, and he noticed that Dark Pit was listening because of the light flutter of his wings when he heard the name of Palutena's kingdom. The light angel focused his attention on the human, who was perplexed to say the least. His gray eyes communicated nothing but bewilderment. Pit's wings perked up and he kept on with his explanation: "Lady Palutena has asked us to bring two humans to Skyworld, to… keep the species going. Because at this rate, all humans will be eradicated in three or four days. We can't let your kind disappear because of Medusa."

Magnus nodded, understanding the situation, and asked: "Why me?", since it was a question that lingered in his mind. Pit told him that the choice had been given to him and his darker twin to save one human male, and that they couldn't let him down. The human accepted that explanation, since it warmed his heart to have his friends' support no matter what, and stood up. He headed towards the kitchen, asked if the two angels wanted something to drink or eat—since they probably had been travelling through the town by foot—but the two refused anything and said that they were just fine.

Dark Pit raised his head from his book, placed a bookmark in the shape of a sword and closed it, before he put it away in the backpack. He couldn't help but make a scornful comment: "Well, it's gone silent, hasn't it? You guys aren't the best when it comes to communication…"

"But you were reading, Pittoo…" Pit eyed at him, his cheeks slightly flushed at the mere sight of him, and decided to stand up and go sit next to him. He snuggled up to him and smiled widely.

Dark Pit rolled eyes but embraced him, his arm around his waist. "Now I'm not anymore. But I may just change my mind, since nobody's in the mood to talk."

Listening to their conversation with a smirk across the lips, Magnus sat at the table, in front of Dark Pit, and ate what looked like a piece of meat. Dark Pit barely paid any attention to him, remembering the last time that they had seen each other with a smile on his face. He hadn't told him that he was important to him, nor would he ever: he was still cautious when it came to expressing his feelings—he knew how sick and twisted Medusa could be, and she would definitely use that information for evil purposes. He remembered that forest, that time when he was still scared to move close to Pit. They had gone a long way together since then… Magnus would surely be surprised to see them so close, and to see that Dark Pit gladly accepted hugs and kisses from his lighter half when he used to recoil at the slightest brush. The situation was so different, but so similar at the same time; still the same threat, still stuck with no way of stopping Medusa.

The dark angel thought about it, ruffling his own hair to soothe his frustration: he couldn't open up a portal to his world without the Mirror of Truth, since Hermes was against them. Perhaps that was why Palutena had wanted to send them over to Medusa's castle? Could be. But since she hadn't said anything about it, he couldn't know for sure…

Dark Pit looked at Pit with a slight blush on his cheeks and realized that he had shut his eyes, leaning on his shoulder. His breathing was so regular that his darker twin knew that he was asleep. He pulled him closer to him, kissed his forehead, and rested his head over that of his other half. The dark angel took out his book, started reading again, and enjoyed the scent of Pit, who was lightly moaning with ease. "Aw, you're cute…"

"That's new," Magnus reacted, startling Dark Pit who jumped on his chair. Fortunately, it hadn't awoken Pit… The dark angel still glared at him but the human didn't pay it no mind. Instead, he shook his hand towards them. "Usually you push him off."

"We've grown close," Dark Pit only said, then he eyed at Pit and his cheeks flushed. "Way closer than before."

"I won't ask for details."

"Wouldn't give them away anyways."

Pit yawned and woke up, blinking his eyes open. He looked up at both Magnus and Dark Pit, apologizing about him dozing off in the middle of the conversation, but the other two said that they hadn't minded it. His darker half let go of him, though he pouted, and grabbed his book. He turned away from Pit and Magnus, engrossed in the story.

In the meantime, Magnus looked out the window when he heard screams in the streets—not just usual screams of teenagers that were partying, but bloodcurdling screams of terror. He quickly stood up and noticed that Pit was also listening to them. Dark Pit, on the other hand, couldn't care less: he was already back to his reading, since he had decided that he didn't want to stop mid-chapter. Pit glanced at his darker twin, who raised his head when he felt a pair of eyes locked on him, and nodded towards the door. "Pittoo, humans need our attendance."

"But I'm in the middle of an _important_ dialogue! He's gonna tell her that he _loves_ her!" Dark Pit complained, his wings perking up to illustrate his anger.

"That can wait, dark angel," Magnus intervened, and he grasped the hilt of his tall, imposing sword that he swung over his shoulder. "Duty calls."

The three partners ran out of the house, even though Dark Pit wasn't really into it, and were immediately assaulted by hordes of Reapers and Eggplant Wizards. Pit barely had enough time to avoid being turned into a vegetable and groaned in annoyance; there were so many of them! The sky was painted red, with dark, threatening clouds looming over the city and spurting troops such as Ornes and Shootflies—everything that they needed, really. On the ground, roaming the streets, were also some Skuttlers armed with cannons. Dark Pit growled and attacked head first the enemies coming at them, while Magnus dealt with a crowd of Skuttlers and tried to avoid their devastating dashes in his direction.

Pit sighed, tired already, and grasped his Palutena Bow reluctantly. He separated it into its blades and lashed out at the bodies of his opponents, praying to the Goddess of Light that it would be enough to finish them off. But even though they were putting on quite a fight and managed to evade most of the enemies' vicious attacks, they were outnumbered and it soon became a problem; a flood of enemies rushed towards the three fighters. "Pit-too we're-ngh!-losing ground! Ahh!" Pit screamed when he received a fully charged shot from one of the Skuttlers' cannons, and he was thrown to the ground. He fluttered his wings, frustrated, and tried to get back up but he was kicked in the gut by one of his opponents.

Dark Pit grunted and briefly eyed at him, despite being in the middle of a merciless battle with several Reapers. He gritted his teeth when he realized that Pit's enemies were the clingy type, and waited for the right opportunity to shoot down the one pinning his lighter half to the ground. "Pit, are you alright? Don't get yourself killed, will ya?" Dark Pit groaned, before he quickly had to dash to the side in order to avoid a Reaper's claws from piercing into his flesh. "If you can't handle them, let me at 'em."

"Alright, I'm fine for now," Pit promised, and he sprung to his feet to stab an enemy in the chest. Several other cannoneers walked up to him and started shooting endless streams of magical orbs, which were hard to maneuver away from for a flightless angel like him. Pit groaned and let out an enraged scream when he spun his bow so fast that his light shield was almost thrown towards the enemies instead of sticking to the blades. He increased the speed, and soon his attack felt like a tornado, sucking in the opponents and immediately tearing them to shreds. Dark Pit watched with growing jealousy; he didn't know how to do that yet, but he would make sure to learn. There was no way that Pit could be better than him with a bow, he refused it.

Pit torn apart a few more Skuttlers and turned to look at his darker twin, with a smug look on his face. "Did—"

"Don't brag, asshole!" Dark Pit protested, and his grip around his staff tightened when an enemy attempted to shoot at his arm. He pierced through the Reapers' skull with one arrow of purple light and rolled his eyes at Pit. "I had to save your ass seconds ago, can't remember that?!"

Pit placed his hands on his hips and his eyes shone with pride. "Mhm, but you can't do that, can you Pittoo~?"

Dark Pit growled. "Just keep dealing with the bitches instead of showing off!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, beyond pissed off. To take out his anger, he kicked a Reaper in the face and stomped on it once the monster was on the ground. His black bangs were sticking to his forehead because of how sweaty he was. Pit ogled at him, aroused by the sight, and hesitated to draw closer but decided to focus on the fight at hand. Dark Pit punched and kicked the monsters surrounding him, with extreme precision and loads of strength that it didn't seem he owned: his arms were quite thin, you'd never expect him to hit so hard. The dark angel hissed in pain when a Reaper bit into his left wing and turned around to stab it in the throat with the blade of his staff. Seeing that Pit was leering at him, Dark Pit rolled eyes. "Are you serious?! That's all you've got to think about right now?! Did you not hear me when I told you to fight?! For Zeus' sake, Pit, move!"

"Roger!" Pit beamed in response; he was pretty satisfied with the reaction that he had earned from Dark Pit.

The two angels went back to fighting, all the more violent in their attacks and tactical in their movements, but eventually Dark Pit clicked his tongue and examined the battlefield. In spite of their best efforts to hold on, the three fighters were almost surrounded. He needed to get them out of there before they could get harmed or, worse in Magnus' case, killed. Medusa knew that they would come there, and she had planned everything to make them fall. Pit evaded several shots and gasped in pain when his shoulder was bitten by a Reaper. Fortunately, there was little blood and the bite mark was barely visible, but it still stung enough to incapacitate him with his bow. Magnus glanced at them, out of breath and luck since he was stuck against a wall with several Eggplant Wizards blocking his way. "Dark angel, what do we do?" he asked, panicked, and he tried to pick up his breath.

The dark angel dealt with the enemies around him with ease and replied bitterly: "Well, what do you think we should do, you senseless cunt?!"

The human shrugged and was about to say that he had no idea, because there was no possible way that they would win this battle, when Dark Pit tugged at Pit's arm and ran in the opposite direction. He headed right towards the exit of the town, to that forest that they often visited together during their afternoons. Dark Pit quickly spun around and shot down the enemies that cornered Magnus, nodding towards the town's gate before picking up his pace, forcing Pit to follow him. Their human friend understood the message and followed them, using his sword as a shield so that enemies couldn't shoot at them from behind. It deflected a few attacks, which he was glad about, and the dark angel led them towards the forest, where they would have to hide until the hordes of Underworld troops were gone.

Pit struggled to break free, but Dark Pit's hold wouldn't weaken, even though they had walked farther away from the town. The dark angel turned to face his lighter half, worry glistening in his ruby eyes, and he tried to reason with him: "Pit, listen to me—"

"No, _you_ listen to me: I'm not retreating, never!" Pit immediately retorted, then he managed to recoil from Dark Pit's grasp and stopped in his tracks.

"You're wishing to die, today?" Dark Pit scornfully replied. "I'm trying to protect you here, in case you haven't noticed!"

Pit gritted his teeth. "These humans are going to get killed if we don't do something!"

"Pit, they will kill _you_."

"I'll go down fighting!" With that said, Pit grabbed his Palutena Bow, and was about to head towards the city before it was too late. But before he could do so, Dark Pit shot the weapon out of his hands with a very precise arrow that barely missed his skin. The light angel gasped, startled by the suddenness of the action, and turned around to face his darker twin. He still held out his staff and pointed it at Pit in a rather menacing manner. "Pittoo, what are you doing?!"

Dark Pit's eyes glimmered with rage when he tightened his grip around his weapon. He seemed awfully serious, even more so than usual, which wasn't a good sign… His posture was that he adopted before a dreadful battle, and his eyebrows were slightly frowned, so as to intimidate the Angel of the Sun. He was definitely prepared to shoot him dead the second he moved. Dark Pit's 'look threatening' strategy proved itself to be effective, since Pit stepped back and raised his hands in the air, his eyes sweating with heavy tears. Though Dark Pit hated the sight of him when he did so: what he could read in those blue eyes was nothing but terror, and he loathed to think that he was the origin of it. He shut his red rubies, collecting his thoughts, but didn't let go of his weapon, nor pointed away from his lighter half. "If you go back in there, I kill you."

"What?!" Pit reacted, his wings perking up in sheer horror when he heard those words. Somewhere inside him, he wished that his twin didn't mean them… but he knew that he definitely would own up to them if Pit took a step towards the city. The thought alone made him tear up even more, and he asked, his voice cracking up in his throat: "You would do that…?"

"Definitely; I'll have the decency to make it quick—which is something that those freaks won't do."

"But, Pittoo, you know that we have to protect the humans, their kind is endangered…" the light angel tried to explain, though his voice was leaving him. His stomach was heaving and he could hear very distinctly his heart pounding in his eardrums. He began to sweat, his body taken over by fright, and his hands shook as much as his soul within. He couldn't believe that Dark Pit would threaten him… Palutena had sent them to protect the human race, wasn't that right? Then why was he behaving as such? Why wasn't he doing everything to save the innocent humans of that town? Why didn't he keep fighting, he who was a wondrously talented fighter? He was strong, fast, alert—Dark Pit had this fight in the bag, most undoubtedly! Yet, they were retreating, they were walking away without a glance behind, without a thought for all these human lives that would be spoiled because they hadn't stood up for them in dire straits. Pit bit his lower lip and eyed back towards the city, which was being demolished by the Underworld troops that lingered around the area; he would never forgive himself if he didn't save them… He would die fighting, like a hero, because that was who he was.

Pit took his decision and glared at Dark Pit, who challenged him with a dangerous glisten in his eyes. "You think I wouldn't do it?" the dark angel gnarled, pissed off.

"I know you would, but… listen to them…" The angel of light looked at the city, heard the heart-rending pleas of the humans being massacred. He spun around to glance at Dark Pit, who had his finger on the trigger and was ready to pull it. "I'm sorry, I can't let this happen."

"PIT, DON'T YOU DARE OR I _WILL_ KILL YOU!" Dark Pit screamed.

"Then kill me right now!"

Dark Pit's heart skipped a beat and he tried to call back his lighter half, but he paid him no mind. Instead, Pit took a step towards the tall buildings. Magnus looked at him disapprovingly and tried to calm down the dark angel, who was strongly hesitating to pull the trigger and kill Pit right off. His hands were shaking, his body trembling, and his red eyes filled with heavy tears that he couldn't suppress. He was about to pull the trigger when he met Magnus' desperate eyes. The situation was getting out of hand. Dark Pit shook his head, for his heart stung too much; he couldn't do it, but he had to do it. He couldn't let Medusa get to Pit, she would make him… endure things he didn't want to even name. He gripped onto his weapon, still targeting the angel of light's back.

The dark angel tried to shut his eyes and gulp down his fear, but that only increased it. "FUCK, I _CAN'T_ DO IT!" he cursed, and he quickly lowered his staff.

Thus reassured, Magnus decided to rush after Pit, and managed to get a hold on him, pulling him back by the arm right before a huge Orne landed before him. The light angel gasped and jumped back, nearly falling down with how scared he was. That was probably the last thing that they needed: being assaulted by a rogue Orne that nobody had expected to be there. Medusa knew their position and she was trying to kill them. It was safe to assume that she had been following them all along.

Dark Pit groaned possessively and pointed his staff at the monster. "Don't touch him, he's my property," he said, which caused the Orne to eye at him. The dark angel took his chance and shot at it, but he clicked his tongue when he realized that it was no use: no harm was done to the thing. "Damn it, should've brought the Silver Bow…" he said to himself between his gritted teeth.

Before his eyes, Magnus forced Pit to run in the dark angel's direction and the latter told them to find shelter in an old cave that he used to live in, farther into the woods. Magnus didn't ask where it was, assuming that it would be easy to spot, and pulled Pit towards the deep forest, which looked all the more threatening with Medusa's cursed skies above their heads. The angel of light protested, yelled Dark Pit's name at the top of his lungs whereas his darker half was trying to distract the Orne to buy them time. It was rather effective, since the creature was focusing its attention on its opponent, but it eventually drew dangerously close to him as well. Dark Pit felt his life energy being sucked out of him and attempted to scoot off, only to fall face first in the grass and groan. The Orne towered over him and the dark angel knew that it was the end for him: even his fingers, which were wrapped around his staff, were stiff as stone.

Dark Pit heard Pit calling him from afar: "Pittoo, no! Hold on, I'm coming! LET ME GO MAGNUS!"

"N-no, P-Pit… S-s-ave your-s-elf…" the darker angel moaned lightly, completely worn out. The Orne dived towards him, ready to engulf him, when a comforting hand patted his back. He briefly glanced up at the intruder, and all he could see was a red scarf before his eyes closed.

Tip glared at the creature which had recoiled upon his arrival and grasped his bow with determination. This thing was going down, whatever it was, he wasn't afraid of it since he couldn't die. He was glad that he had followed his two friends… It allowed him to pull off some nice _deus ex machina_ and it was always a delight. It reminded him of his debut in this universe… The Orne glowered at the angel and tried to attack him, but Tip didn't care for dodging; instead, he pulled up his bow and forced the Underworld monster to choke on it. The skull-like creature shrieked as it was pierced through and through by two sharp blades and eventually turned into smoke.

Tip spun his weapon in his hand, proud of himself even though he didn't really have to do much in the end, and glanced back at Dark Pit who was grunting. He was awake, that was one thing. Now, if he was wounded or not was a whole another question, to which Tip sought answers. He somehow knew that Dark Pit wouldn't give them, considering his, well, character, but he decided to ask anyways: "Glad to see I wasn't late, are you okay? No sprained ankle, no broken bone, no bleeding injury?"

Dark Pit blinked when he recognized that voice, and immediately looked up in shock. "What in the Underworld are you doing here? Can you fly on your own now? And that timing… were you stalking us or was it a plot hazard—as I like to call them?"

Tip smiled and placed his hands on his hips. He simply answered: "I'm the most powerful character in this story, am I not? What purpose do I serve if I don't come in at the last second to save you from certain death?"

"You know, that's… not very convincing."

The angel with the red scarf shrugged his shoulders and beamed: "See ya!" before flying off towards Skyworld.

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 _To be continued…_


	32. Chapter 31: Seeing red

**Disclaimer:** **I do not own the characters, although I took some liberties with both Tip and Blapi. The deities mentioned are taken from Greek Mythology, remastered the way I imagine them. What I own, on the other hand, is the plot.**

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 **Kid Icarus: Heirs of the Light**

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 _Chapter 31: Seeing red_

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Living amongst a crowd of humans was certainly harder than what both Pits had thought. The mortals were very open creatures: they spent their days roaming around their cities, going from one end to another and talking to everyone passing by as if they had been knowing them for decades. Dark Pit had the most problems integrating, because he wasn't a very social being himself; he liked his time alone, which would occasionally cause him to refuse going out with Pit and Magnus and read a book instead, within the comfort of the cave. Well, comfort was debatable, but he insisted on that. The dark angel, although he was bored out of his mind whenever he was with mortals, tried to make efforts to go towards them: he was found talking to a girl the other day, asking if she enjoyed sparring—when of course she didn't. He had yet to accommodate to the thought that humans didn't like war as much as they did, as angels.

The Olympic games were the only occasion during which teams would engage in friendly battles. Those greatly reminded Pit of the Skyworldian sports, where he was to fight Dark Pit and his team of 'dark' soldiers. He missed them more than he dared say; there was something about dueling his darker half that drove him and pushed him to be better the following time. Pit was always so thrilled at the idea of competing with him again, like they often used to, even though he'd get beaten ridiculously quickly every single time. Pit knew that he'd have to wait to try battling Dark Pit again, since their mission on the Overworld was way more important, yet he couldn't help but think about it, even sometimes dream about it.

Dark Pit, on the other hand, didn't have pretty dreams of a friendly spar. He would often wake up sweating, curled up in his blankets, and would shake from head to toe. He claimed that a dark, twisted version of Pit haunted him, and that he knew it was real and that it wasn't just in his imagination. Both Pit and Magnus didn't know what to do with the information; they had never seen a corrupted version of the real angel of light. Sure, the other angels… they had been prominent and always on the battlefield against them—mainly that red one, he creeped Pit out with his dark, smoking eyes… But there was no such thing as an 'evil Pit', or however they could call the mythical creature that Dark Pit believed he saw.

Pit shook his head, since he was digressing again, and focused on their walk: they headed towards another town, which had not yet been destroyed by Medusa's troops. The city itself seemed rather small, but it was protected by a gigantic fortress that kept enemies out of the streets themselves. Pit had seen several of these high walls in his life before, but none as threatening as that one; a few towers, inhabited by soldiers in full armor, were scattered around the town and made sure that no enemy could creep in without being spotted immediately. Additionally, wooden stakes were displayed all along the wall's structure, on a rather large perimeter. Some of them were even covered in dry, brownish blood… Intimidating much, in other words.

Magnus led the group, chatting around with a reluctant Dark Pit who occasionally told him to shut up. Pit walked behind them, glancing at the wall and at the human soldiers, who were starting to move towards the windows of their towers to look down at them. Because the two angels were hidden under hooded cloaks, they had no way of knowing if they were friends or foe. Thus, one of the soldiers called them out, and Magnus raised his head to look at him. "We're in for the feast!" Magnus claimed, which took by surprise the two angels who had not been made aware that there was a feast to begin with.

Dark Pit briefly glared at the human, who shrugged his shoulders, and soon enough the city's gates opened to them. The three partners walked in, looking from left to right to check out if there was any woman suitable for Magnus. As… weird as it seemed, they had to act this way if they wanted to get anywhere with their mission; the human had to tell them which girl he liked the most, and then they'd try to make conversation with the lady. But it appeared that Magnus was quite a picky man, who did not find interest in anyone at first sight. Dark Pit kept saying that it was because he had other views—and he always eyed at Pit whenever he said that—and that he just wasn't into women anymore. Magnus rolled his eyes every time he claimed that and said that no, he wasn't gay, although he knew within himself that he was sort of lying to himself.

The three friends walked up to a shop and Pit peeked inside, to try and find a woman that looked like Gaol. Even though Magnus had told him not to do that, because it would bring back awful memories, the light angel had no idea what else to do. Every girl that came their way would instantly be rejected by their human representative… and they couldn't afford to waste too much time with this mission, for Palutena was alone in Skyworld in the meantime. Pit glanced around the shop, noticed that the merchants were decorating the place with red and green tinsels and frowned. Was this for the feast? What were they even celebrating?

Confused, Pit stopped searching for a woman and turned away, realizing that Dark Pit and Magnus had kept on walking without him and they were completely out of sight. He had no idea which direction they took… The Angel of the Sun sighed, irritated, and pushed his way through the crowd of humans to try and find them. Unfortunately, he bumped into someone and sent them to the ground. The angel stopped and held out a hand, before he saw her gleaming orange eyes and froze on the spot. His eyes widened, his face turned pale and his cheeks burned in no time. The woman fluttered her eyelashes—fortunately she was not harmed—and looked up, and she let out a strangled gasp when she recognized him. Her heart started pounding, which caused her to touch her chest. "Eros?" she asked, incredulous.

Pit was out of breath. "Psyche?" he inquired in disbelief—who was Psyche? Why did he know her? Why was she calling him Eros? Was she also a Goddess? Why did they keep on meeting Gods, even amongst the humans? It made no sense to him…

The woman stood up, wiped her dress to clean it off, and smiled brightly at Pit. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned forward in order to kiss him, because she had 'missed' him—those were her very words. The angel's wings fluttered with delight, although he didn't why he was accepting this, and he couldn't help but close his eyes when her lips came in contact with his own. She sighed in ease, pulling him closer and deepening their kiss. Pit's heart started beating faster as panic struck him, and he realized what he was doing in the blink of an eye. He tried his best to push her away but she wouldn't let go, clinging onto him as though her life depended on it. Somewhere, deep inside of his heart, Pit was beyond ecstatic that he was sharing a passionate kiss with the woman—Psyche, he reminded himself.

The human girl smiled and let go of his lips, grasping his hand and inviting him to follow her to the park. Pit couldn't understand why, but he really wanted to be with her, so he accepted. They both held hands and started walking towards the park, at the center of the town. The flora there was absolutely outstanding: tall trees with fluffy yellow leaves, orange flowers embedded and outlining the path leading to a huge fountain. All around the park were shops, cafés, and restaurants. It was overall a very touristic area, with lots of humans wandering around and taking pictures of the fountain. At the center of the said fountain, there was a statue which represented Aphrodite clinging to a human and begging him to stay with her. The human was being pulled in another direction by two hounds, and it seemed like the man himself was dressed like a hunter.

Psyche led Pit to the edge of the fountain and they both sat there, gazing at each other with both surprise and passion. It felt like they had been away from each other for centuries… but it couldn't be, could it? Had this woman been Eros' crush? Was she even a real human to begin with? Her eyes… Pit agreed with Dark Pit now that he saw them up close; they were anything but natural… They gleamed just as much as those green of Palutena. That was the sign of great power… wasn't it? He didn't know what to think anymore; she unsettled him, but not even in a bad way. She deeply moved his feelings.

Psyche held out her hand and stroke his cheek lovingly, a smile across the lips. Pit cleared his throat, wanted to move away, because he felt like all of this was wrong towards Dark Pit, who would sooner or later find out that he had chosen to follow a girl and kissed her. But his… entire soul was fighting against him. Eros—if he was still conscious—longed for Psyche, he wanted to feel the touch of her skin under his fingers, he yearned to sense her warm breath against his lips… Pit blinked, trying to repel those thoughts, but he eventually gave in and kissed Psyche again. He wasn't strong enough to fight against the will of a God… The woman smiled and kissed him back, pulling him close to her beating heart.

The only thing that they both could hear was the chirping of birds, and that brought a sense of serenity within themselves…

… which was ruined seconds later.

They both picked up the sound of someone clearing their throat, and Pit froze in his movements; he knew it was Dark Pit, and he knew that he was in deep trouble. The light angel pushed the human girl off of him, nearly sending her in the water, and eyed at his darker half, who was glowering at him dangerously. Pit gulped and looked down at his feet, deeply ashamed of his not-so-willingly-performed actions. His hands started fidgeting and his eyes filled with heavy tears. Why had he done this? What was wrong with him? He loved Dark Pit to the bottom of his heart, his soul belonged to him and him only… Why had he given a slice of it to that human girl, Psyche? Why had he felt like kissing her was right? Why did he feel like her presence was right?

Dark Pit stared at Psyche with profound, justified disdain. Then he turned back to face his lighter version, who still didn't dare to look him in the eyes. Pissed off, the dark angel asked—or more so yelled: "Can someone tell me what that's all about?!"

Pit glanced at Magnus, who stood at Dark Pit's right and bore the same expression as the dark angel next to him. He wasn't getting away with this, he knew it fully: he had messed up. He should've been resistant, he should've silenced the voice within him that told him to spend time with Psyche. But he hadn't been strong enough, he couldn't stay away, no matter how much he had willed to. "I'm sorry, Pittoo…"

The human girl, on the other hand, didn't appear disturbed at all, quite the opposite: she was happy that she was reunited with Eros. She hesitated to take him in her arms, but felt like he wouldn't allow her to; whoever this dark angel was affected him greatly. She could see and perceive the intensity of Pit's feelings towards him, and wouldn't interfere. This angel was still his own person, even though Eros' soul inhabited his body. If… If Pit was in love with someone else, Psyche had no right to come between them. She would wait until he was ready to love her again, fully and completely, as he did in the past.

Dark Pit snorted, which drew everyone's attention, and he glared at Pit with deep, blazing rage in his red eyes. "That's all you've got to say? 'I'm sorry'? You think you're getting away with this?"

Pit looked up, about to reply that it wasn't his fault he did that in the first place, when he noticed a figure looming over Dark Pit and threatening to hit him behind the head. "BEHIND YOU!" the Angel of the Sun gasped, and he jumped to his feet to push his other half away—no second thoughts. Because he had basically taken Dark Pit's place, Pit was abruptly hit across the face and sent to the ground, moaning in pain; his temple had been cut open and his vision started to get blurry. The dark shadow, which was in fact that red corrupted angel who petrified him in fear, stood straight before him and glanced down at Pit with a scornful smirk on the lips. For being Palutena's little protégé, he wasn't very strong. He had expected to put up a fight against that one, since he was supposedly the 'Angel of the Sun' that the prophecies revolved around… Too bad for him, he'd just have to kill him that way. That did make things easier for him, but… it was way less fun.

Thus decided to act upon Pit's weakness, the corrupted angel rose his weapon in his direction and charged a shot straight for his head. Pit sighed and looked down, defeated; there was no way he could roll away from it this time.

Once Dark Pit was back on his feet, he grunted and spun around. "Pit, seriously, what in the Underworld is wrong with y—Oh. It's _you_ ," he snarled when he caught sight of the red angel. The latter looked up at him and raised an eyebrow, holding his weapon and menacing to pulverize Pit on the spot. Dark Pit rolled eyes and placed his hands on his hips. "C'mon, shoot him! If you dare. We both know you won't do it." The red angel looked at him as if to say: 'You wanna bet?' and glanced back at Pit, who was pleading him not to kill him with wide, tearful blue eyes. The possessed monster smirked and was about to pull the trigger of his cannon, but something prevented him from actually doing it—something within himself, which was forcing him to stop by paralyzing him. Dark Pit spectated the scene, satisfied. "See? Your soul is still fighting off the darkness eating you, which means that you won't kill Pit. That's one thing I've learnt about your kind: you're aggressive but you're not murderers."

The red angel gritted his teeth and lowered his weapon. He glared at Dark Pit, as if to ask how he knew that and he didn't himself, and the dark version of Pit provided him with an answer: "You see, I have reliable sources. In my nightmares at night, I see an angel who is corrupted, just like you. And he can't kill me. He gives me lots of helpful information on how to beat you guys to the bone." Medusa's commander's eyes widened in terror and he glanced at Pit, who was slowly getting up despite the blood covering half of his face and temporarily blinding his right eye. In the meantime, Dark Pit turned to Magnus and asked him to take Psyche to safety—although he profoundly despised her for kissing his angel.

"Okay, but be careful, dark angel," the human nodded, and after he had received a slight nod from Dark Pit, he forced the woman on her fee and pulled her towards a restaurant. Once he was there, he demanded that every human being stayed in one of the shops, because a violent fight was probably going to unleash and they couldn't stand in the way.

Outside, in the middle of the park, the red angel grasped his weapon, which looked very similar to an EZ-cannon except that it was black and red, and charged a shot that he aimed at Dark Pit. If he knew how to kill him, then he was the biggest threat between his two opponents. Pit wouldn't be difficult to deal with if he managed to kill the 'love of his life', since he would be too heartbroken to fight off! However, what Medusa's commander hadn't planned was that Dark Pit was quick on his feet. Thus, he narrowly avoided the attack perpetrated against him, and the blast hit the statue and beheaded its human figure. Dark Pit winced and shrugged one shoulder. "Sorry Adonis, it was you or me."

The red angel felt rage boiling inside him and shot another time, only to miss again and nearly destroy the fountain again. Dark Pit took out his staff and dived to the side when he was nearly hit by a fully charged blast of energy. He rolled on the ground, in front of Pit, and looked over his shoulder to make sure that he was alright. Pit eyed at him, tears running down his left cheek, and nodded. In spite of his blood-gushing wound and his heavy breathing, he was just fine and ready to kick that black-hearted angel back to the Underworld. Dark Pit smiled poorly and turned his attention to his enemy, right before he was shot in the chest. The dark version of Pit was sent crashing into the fountain's statue, in Aphrodite's arms. He grunted, spitted some blood, and his wings fluttered. "Thanks Mom for helping me out, love you."

Dark Pit pulled himself out of there, looking at Pit as he started to put up a fight against the monstrous angel. For the time being, he only cared about deflecting his enemy's attacks, and sometimes he would lash out at him and try to slice his arm off. Even though he wasn't succeeding in doing that, Dark Pit had to say that he was very tactical and intelligent in his positioning. He was always ready to jump to the side, always on the move, and every single time he extended his bow, it was to reflect a blast and was extremely precise for someone who only had one eye open. Dark Pit joined in and held out his staff, shooting their opponent right in the neck. The enemy fell down, laying on the ground, and Pit ran towards him to make sure that he wasn't dead. Blood was pouring out of him like the water of the fountain, and the corrupted monster had a hard time keeping his eyes open.

The Angel of the Sun offered a hand to help him up, but even with that there was no way that he could stand up. His legs were wiggly and his body shook like a leaf. Dark Pit wasn't stupid, he knew what was happening: he was dying from blood loss, and very quickly. The dark angel stretched his teal wings, happy with the outcome of the fight, but Pit turned to him, despair glistening in his open ocean orb. "Please, Pittoo… We need to save him."

"So he can start attacking us again?" Dark Pit replied ironically, then he laughed quite humorlessly before pursuing: "No way. I'll let his blood paint this pale graveled path, it looked ugly anyways."

"Pittoo!"

"Nope, still a no from me."

The red angel, lying on the ground, turned paler and paler as heat was leaving his body. His blood was staining the ground and formed a red puddle around his head. His body became slack, and soon his eyes closed for good.

Pit's own filled with tears and he fell to his knees next to the corpse of one of his corrupted copies, mourning his death. Even though he was their enemy, he didn't deserve this fate: his spirit had been fighting this whole time, all of that for nothing? All of that to be killed off in horrible circumstances, bleeding out on the ground? The angel of light's stomach heaved at the thought and grasped the dead angel's hand. He squeezed it and murmured: "Find peace in the Heavens…" before turning to Dark Pit.

His darker version was checking in on the humans, telling them that they could come out now, and soon returned by Pit's side along with Magnus and Psyche. Dark Pit rested a hand on his lighter half's shoulder and rubbed it to comfort him. His usually cold rubies were overflown with sadness when he said: "You have to let him go. Now his soul is at peace, it'll find its way back to its original dimension, free from Medusa's control."

"We should've saved him, Pittoo…" Pit whimpered, and he couldn't help but eye back at the corpse and sob louder. It felt like one of these dreams, where you saw your body lying on the ground in front of you, and you were powerless and couldn't save your own self. Since this angel looked so much like him—like them, it was… horrendously painful to overcome his death; it felt like their own, to some extent. A part of them had died along with that angel. The Universe was unbalanced now, because of it… Unless it wasn't? Dark Pit had said that his soul would find its way back to its original dimension… did that count too? As long as each and every soul was in the world that they belonged in, the Universe would be fine? Maybe… It didn't seem so strange, at least.

Magnus looked at Psyche, who showed nothing of what she truly felt. Dark Pit, on the other hand, was much more expressive and knelt down by Pit's side to take him in his arms. His own eyes were sweating with tears that he couldn't blink back any longer. The first death was always the most difficult one to go through, but they would do this together. No matter what had happened with Psyche before, it didn't matter anymore; they had to stick together to get through this. They couldn't let a human girl get between them. Pit looked at Dark Pit and sniffed, wiping off his tears with his hands and rubbing his eyes. He had almost forgotten that his face was covered in blood, and thus his entire arm was painted with it as well. That, and his clothes, which were stained with red spots.

Dark Pit glanced at him and snorted. "Well, someone needs a shower."

"Mainly new clothes…"

"Too expensive, plus I like you in those; that torn scarf gives you that rebellious vibe which I am quite fond of. So, a shower," the dark angel insisted. Pit sighed reluctantly but nodded and wiped his face again, to ensure that he could open his right eye. He pulled himself up, following Dark Pit's movement, and turned to face both Magnus and Psyche. The woman had vanished again, probably she had run off to another town, whereas Magnus was still waiting with his sword over his shoulder.

Dark Pit invited them to follow his lead and they began walking again, making their way to a pond with clear water. There, they bathed together, trying to get over what they had witnessed. They barely realized that they had left the corpse unattended, for all humans to see, for they didn't really care either way. As long as Pit and Dark Pit remained under cover, with their cloaks over their wings, they would be fine. Pit talked about the wound on his temple, that bothered him because it kept on bleeding, and Dark Pit proposed to be a vampire and suck it for him—to which Pit reacted with a horrified: 'NO!'—but aside from that, their conversation was very simple and straight-forward.

Magnus told them that they shouldn't waste too much time in the pond if they wanted to go to that feast, and that was when he met Dark Pit's curious eyes. Perplexed by the unfamiliar glimmer in the dark angel's orbs, he decided to let him ask whatever question was on his mind. And that he did: "What are they celebrating? Because I'm not into parties."

"Well, today's Christmas, so," Magnus said casually, then he realized that the two angels had no clue of what he was talking about. The human frowned, beyond bewildered, and told them that yes, it was indeed Christmas already—he even added that he knew that time was flying fast with all that they had to take care of, but still, they should've been aware. Pit chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his head, admitting that he had no idea what that was, and Dark Pit only nodded to what his twin said. Magnus had to say that he hadn't expected that in the least; were they not watching the human world all the time? How could they not know about Christmas? Sure, it was a huge anachronism, since Christ wasn't even born yet nor was being conceived, but still, they should know about it! It was so widely spread around the human world, how could they not be aware?

Magnus blinked, astonished, and found himself to be quite at a loss for words. Was he meant to explain what the concept behind Christmas was? How could he word it simply? Oh, he knew! Enlightened by the author's voice resonating in his head, Magnus turned to his two angelic friends and said: "It's basically a day dedicated to the birth of a man who is not even born yet. Does that make sense?"

Pit blinked, confused, and Dark Pit raised an eyebrow to express the same thing. Magnus told them to drop the case and just follow him to the feast, which they did in spite of what he had thought. They grabbed their chitons and dressed up in a more 'classy' manner, with Dark Pit using his scarf to make a sort of sleeve to cover his right arm. He took off his cuffs, only wearing his thigh and arm rings. Indeed, he looked a lot more fancy, less ready to fight bad guys. It could look like he was heading to a party. Pit, on the other hand… didn't know what to do with his clothes. While his darker half was putting his cuffs in his backpack, the angel of light was still pondering on what to do.

Magnus suggested that he stayed like he usually was if it was that difficult, since he already looked outstanding, and earned a death glare from Dark Pit. Pit agreed that it was a better idea, since he didn't want to end up making a fool of himself.

After that, the three of them headed to the center of the town, where the party was meant to be held. The sun was setting in the distance and the two angels put on their cloaks, although they realized that they had switched and Dark Pit was raging about how 'light blue is for the weak'. Pit was pretty happy with his dark purple cloak and decided to keep it—mainly because it smelled like Dark Pit's cologne, but he wouldn't say it out loud. He voiced it to Magnus though, just not to his darker twin. They reached their destination and watched as humans gathered around a tall pine tree, decorating it with tinsels, lights and bulbs of all kinds and all colors.

The dark version of Pit looked rather unimpressed. "Wow, _outstanding_ : a pine tree! Seriously, what am I doing here?" he mumbled.

His lighter half was gaping and gazing at the tree with wide eyes. Magnus looked at him and told him to get closer, to give the humans a hand, which he definitely decided to do. Pit ran up to the mortals and asked if he could do something.

Dark Pit observed him, biting his lower lip and blushing a little. Sure, it was getting cold, but Magnus wasn't dumb: he was leering at Pit, and quite openly at that. Standing farther from the crowd, next to a tree, Dark Pit retreated and watched the party with a bored look in his eyes. Magnus decided not to pay attention to him and joined everyone else to celebrate. The hundreds of humans that had gathered that night were, for the most part, males, but there were a handful of women who roamed around and made their way up to groups of men in order to ask for free drinks.

Pit glanced at everything and everyone, excited, though he tried to keep his wings from fluttering too much—it would be suspicious. The humans revolved around a huge stack of gift boxes, wrapped in elegant red and green paper. Intrigued, the angel walked up to it and squatted down to see that names were written on each of them. He gasped and started to look around, to see if one had his name on it—but of course it wasn't the case for those that he looked at, which he pouted about. Dark Pit watched him and smirked; what was he thinking? Humans didn't care about angels and Gods, they wouldn't make gifts for them. They were just called in times of need; they were shadows, nobody paid attention to them except when they needed favors to be granted.

Magnus walked towards a few women who talked to him, trying to get to know them better to see if he could mate with them. It was sickening him to look at these women as though they were merchandise, but… he had no choice. The fate of humanity as a whole was on his shoulders, and he couldn't mess it up. His friends counted on him; they had chosen him because they trusted him with the task. He would not disappoint them.

While his human friend was doing that, Pit was looking at the other humans surrounding him. Some of them were talking, others laughing, even singing for a small portion of them, and the light angel found himself smiling. It was so delightful to see everyone enjoying themselves with others of their kind. He sat next to the gift boxes, scanning the humans with his wide-opened blue orbs, and eventually a familiar figure struck his eye: Dark Pit. He was standing in the distance, under a tree, and glanced at everyone around with an air of detachment on his face.

Pit inhaled and pulled himself up on his feet, making his way towards him. When he noticed what he was doing, the dark angel stepped out of the shadows. His lighter half stopped when he was in front of him and reached for his hands, entwining their fingers. "Pittoo, I want to apologize for what you saw earlier. I think Eros knows her, she's called Psyche, and…"

"Shh," Dark Pit hushed him, and he leaned in to seal their lips in a chaste kiss. He pulled him in the shadows with him and they kept on kissing each other, eyes closed and breathing heavily. Dark Pit's arms wrapped around Pit's body and he held him close, never intending to let go; he was his', now and forevermore. No matter what would get in their way, no matter who would try to steal Pit from him, he would always come back to him and he'd be his' again. Dark Pit smiled at the thought and hungrily ate out those sweet lips, demanding access to his lighter version's mouth. Of course, it was granted, and the dark angel explored his lover possessively. After a moment, he let the other take his breath and smiled. "You're mine. I don't care about this Psyche human, she doesn't matter. What matters is me, what matters is you. And me without you doesn't exist. And you without me doesn't exist either. Got that?"

Pit nodded, enthralled by his darker half's words, and he kissed him again. Although he was still out of breath, he wanted to make the most of their intimate moment before it was interrupted—because of course it would be, he knew the author well enough to foresee it. As he had expected, Magnus walked up to them and cleared his throat. "You're not joining us?" he asked when the two angels turned to face him, quite startled even though they had seen it coming from miles away.

Dark Pit groaned and glared at Magnus. "You think I'm into partying with mortals? Excuse me, do we know each other?"

"Don't be like that, dark angel. Allow yourself to have fun! Santa will soon be here to hand out the gifts—perhaps there's one with your name on it!" Magnus beamed; they had rarely seen him so excited about something in the past.

Pit eyed at Dark Pit and almost begged him internally to accept to go there with him, and the dark angel rolled eyes. He glanced over to the stack of gifts and reluctantly accepted to come along. The human smiled and led them towards the crowd of humans, which was gathering around the gifts and waited for someone—the two angels supposed that it was this 'Santa' that they sought after. Pit dragged Dark Pit to the front, because he wanted to see everything up close, and his darker half told him to be careful, because he kept bumping into humans on the way. When he realized that the other wasn't listening, he cursed under his breath and kept quiet, frowning nonetheless. Soon, they were at the front, standing right next to the gifts. There were so many of them that even Dark Pit's eyes widened; that was quite the amount of people… Perhaps there was a chance that they would have something? Whoever this Santa was seemed to be a generous soul, so… why not hope?

A voice erupted from the crowd, saying: 'Oh oh oh!', and Dark Pit looked deadpanned. Pit giggled and told him to cheer up, snuggling up to him—that was efficient: the dark angel immediately smiled and hugged him close. With his back to Dark Pit's chest, the Angel of the Sun watched as a man with a big round belly made his way to the gifts in front of them. He had a long beard and thick eyebrows that almost fell in his eyes. He also wore a strange, red outfit with white furry straps on the edges. On his head, he had a hat which had a white fluffy pompom hanging from its tip.

Pit gazed at him with sparkling eyes whereas Dark Pit was, once again, very unsympathetic. The man stood next to the gifts and started calling out names, with the humans walking up and getting their gift. The look of pure bliss on their faces was enough to get Pit all pumped up about his own gift. What could it be? He hadn't asked for anything, but he still wanted to know what he would get. Dark Pit, on the other hand, was less than excited: he stared at the man with empty, unamused eyes. "Just what did I get myself into?"

"Aw, Pittoo, come on! Have a little fun! I wanna see your gift when you get it, by the way."

"No way, you'll steal it!" Dark Pit accused him, squinting his eyes.

Pit laughed and shook his head negatively. "No! I wouldn't do that!"

Dark Pit stared at him, knowing that he would, but didn't say anything. Before he could talk again, Magnus made their way up to his friends and showed them the gift that he had received. It was a box filled with chocolates and a postcard. The dark angel looked it at with a stern expression. The human told him that it was all he had ever wanted, since that gift card came from his mother, whom he hadn't seen in years and missed dearly. For him, it was proof that she was still alive and well, and that mattered more than any other gift in the world.

Dark Pit sniffed, unaffected, and turned back to look at Pit, who had made his way to that Santa guy because he had been called. He bounced in excitement and his darker version rolled eyes: he just couldn't stay still, could he? His lighter half clasped his hands when the man handed him his gift and took it, with much thanks to Santa of course. After that, he walked up to Dark Pit and showed his box to him. His twin raised an eyebrow and told him to open it, to see if it wasn't a joke and it wasn't empty. Pit's eyes shone with panic when he thought about the possibility, and he quickly got down on his knees to open the gift. It was actually very small, which brought even more fear to the angel's heart.

What he found inside was a little box. It was black, very soft under his fingers, but he couldn't help but wonder what was inside. Dark Pit saw it and took it from him, inspecting it and slightly opening it to see what was inside. After that, he put it away in his pocket and refused that Pit see it. The Angel of the Sun pouted, said that it was _his_ gift and that he had the right to see what was inside, but his darker twin wouldn't have it. "You'll have it, only later," he assured him. Pit sighed and tried to trail his hand down to Dark Pit's pocket, but he was caught red-handed and his darker half intercepted his hand. "Be patient, Pit. Trust me, it's worth it."

"But what is it?" Pit asked, desperate.

Dark Pit rolled his eyes and said: "It starts with 'w'. I'll give it to you at some point, for now I have to keep it."

"Aw, but whyyyy~?"

"Don't sulk!" his darker twin snapped at him, his cheeks flushed beyond what Pit had ever seen from him before. Was it the content of that box that embarrassed him so much? What could it be? Now he wanted to know even more! Pit sighed, curved his lip to try and win his other half's pity, but it didn't work out as well as he'd hoped. Magnus told Pit to be patient, since he also had seen what was contained in that box, and Pit had to give in and accept to wait.

Santa called out Dark Pit and the dark angel raised an eyebrow, not moving an inch. He didn't want gifts, he didn't need them; they were stupid and always disappointed him. The necklace for example: what a great gift, now Medusa was trying to murder them to get it. Every time he was gifted something, it would be a trap, and he was growing sick of them. Santa called him again and soon realized that it was him, there, standing at the front row of the crowd. He walked up to him, smiling, and handed him his small gift box without further ado. Dark Pit glared at him but took it, not caring about thanking him. He expected a Mimicutie, to be frank. Thus, he shook the box, making sure that it wasn't a trap, and heard something bouncing in it.

Pit snatched it from his hands, telling him that he'd have to wait to open it—because he was still bitter about his own gift—and Dark Pit shrugged his shoulders. He couldn't care any less, so he'd let Pit have his fun.

Dark Pit walked off once the crowd was dispersed and went back to his tree, but he saw that two humans were making out there. Pissed off, he glanced around and found that all of the trees were used as cover for lovers in heat. He sighed and made his way to the table where Pit and Magnus were chatting, sitting with them since it was still better than being with random humans. Magnus was reading his postcard to Pit, who was still complaining about his gift that he really wanted. Dark Pit kept silent, focused on something else, when music rang in their ears. Couples stood up and walked to the center, where there was a sort of dancing floor—at least, it was an open space with nothing to bump into—along with lighting effects to set up a mood. The music itself was loud and obnoxious.

Dark Pit cringed and hesitated to retreat in a hidden corner where nobody would see him, but Pit tugged at his arm and encouraged him to come and dance with him. The dark angel glared at him and articulated well when he said: "NO."

Pit pouted and let go of his arm, going to the dancing floor on his own. Magnus eyed at Dark Pit, insistently. "Why didn't you go with him?"

"I don't dance," Dark Pit replied, pissed off, and he watched Pit having fun with a few humans. "Even with a knife to my throat, I wouldn't dance." He turned around and gasped when he realized that Magnus was holding a knife to his throat. The dark angel glowered at him, asked him if he was serious, and all that the human did was bring the blade closer to his skin.

Dark Pit grumbled 'fine' and stood up, shaking from head to toe; he had never once danced in his lifetime, how was he supposed to do it? Fortunately for him, the author was always a life savior in those conditions: with a snap of her fingers, she taught him the basic dance moves. Dark Pit cursed at all the Gods he knew the name of and walked towards Pit, who was surprised to see him there. The light angel smiled at him and joined their hands as they stood in the middle of the dance floor. Of course, even though they hadn't started dancing yet and could just be talking there to bother everyone, the spotlights focused on them. Dark Pit sighed at how heavily cliché this all was but didn't mention it: now he knew how to dance and he was going to make the most of it—since he didn't know how long that Godly-insufflated knowledge would last and he didn't want to make a fool of himself with Pit in his arms.

The light angel chuckled and then a slow started—it was one of these songs that the humans dedicated for lovers, so that they could dance together and astonish everyone with how connected they were. Pit made the first move, snuggling up to Dark Pit's chest and resting his head on his beating heart. "I'm glad you've joined in."

"You can thank the author for that, and also Magnus who literally threatened my life."

Pit laughed and nodded, saying that he would make sure to pay him a drink to thank him. After that, he made a step forward, which forced Dark Pit to step back, and thus they started dancing. It was nothing fancy, nothing sensational: they just kept on rocking back and forth, sometimes to the sides too to add some diversity, and looked at each other. They devoured each other's eyes, not even caring about where their feet would lead them. Pit felt himself transported away into a whole different world, where only himself and Dark Pit existed, and found himself enjoying it. He didn't think about Palutena, nor about the Centurions, nor about Medusa and the Days of Darkness looming over their heads. No, all that he thought about was Dark Pit; his eyes, his hair, his wings that he couldn't see but could imagine wrapped around their bodies to keep them warm. Pit sighed in ease and blushed.

His other half led the dance, since he was decently dancing with all these newly-acquired moves, and held Pit close to his heart. An arm wrapped around his waist, he pulled him in and their noses touched. They kept on dancing, under the spotlights which followed their course—just as in those romantic Disney movies—and the music grew more and more dramatic.

Pit noticed that Magnus was looking at them with a huge grin on the lips and waved at him. The human mouthed: 'Keep dancing!' and the light angel nodded, focusing his attention on his darker half. Dark Pit had closed his eyes, enjoying the moment more than he dared tell, and eventually looked at Pit with two glistening ruby orbs. There was so much affection, so much love in their shine that Pit almost drowned in it. The Angel of the Sun smiled, chuckling, and their noses touched again. The pair dived into each other's eyes, never looking away, and at the end of the song, they shared a kiss that caused the audience to applaud.

Dark Pit drew back and felt all knowledge of how to dance slip away from him. He shrugged his shoulder and looked at Pit, who was delighted that they got to dance on that slow together; it felt right, it felt good. His heart was beating fast, pounding in his eardrums, and his cheeks were redder than the bubbles on the pine tree. The dark angel pulled him off of him and went back to his seat, quite embarrassed because everyone was telling him how good he had been on the dancing floor and how romantic their performance had been. He cringed when he heard these words and was on the verge of snapping at the humans. He successfully made it to their table without losing his temper, and eyed at Magnus with a glare.

The human smirked. "Well, if that wasn't the cutest dance that this world has seen! It will be an inspiration for later generations, I am convinced of it!"

"Shut up?!" Dark Pit snapped at him—that time had been too much, and he couldn't take it anymore. The dark angel shook his head, irritated, and glanced at Pit who was back to dancing with other humans. He had found a little group which he fitted in, and they all laughed and danced together on folk music. Dark Pit smiled widely and admired his lover with gleaming eyes: he was so adorable. Sure, he could definitely hate him sometimes, but he had to admit that he was fascinating. He was his little ray of sunshine. Never would he let him go; he had made that mistake a few times and it drove him to the brink of madness. Now that he was reunited with him, nobody could stand in their way.

Magnus smiled and asked for a drink, and Dark Pit joined in, demanding a beer asap. The waitress nodded and went to the other tables after she had taken their order. She looked decently good: brown, wavy hair that stopped at her shoulders, and clear blue eyes that sparkled with joy. Her skin was fairer than his own, which highlighted her beauty even more. Maybe she was the perfect fit for Magnus—more than Psyche, that was, and even more than Charis, that girl from his nightmare whom he wasn't going to forget about. Dark Pit smirked and nodded towards the waitress, and Magnus immediately understood the message. "No, dark angel, she's like 14. Plus, you should know that I don't really like brunettes."

"Then I can't help but wonder why you like Pit. He's like 14 and he's definitely a brunet," Dark Pit said—more to himself than anything, but it still caused the human to widen his eyes in disbelief.

"What makes you say that I like him?" Magnus asked.

Dark Pit rolled eyes and snorted. He folded his arms, laying back in his chair, and explained with a stern voice: "You're not very discreet. I can see that you occasionally ogle at him, and you also flirt with him from time to time. I must say that I'm not _delighted_ with that behavior."

"If so, I apologize," Magnus said frankly, looking down. He felt ashamed, but he couldn't help himself; for some reason, now that he was looking for a mate, he realized how much he cared for Pit and didn't want to let go. Hope filled his heart every time Pit looked at him, even if it was to yell at him afterwards. Since he knew that, once he'd be with a new mate, he wouldn't be able to share private moments with him, he wanted… to cling to them. He wanted Pit, he desired him, because he ensured security. And he was also so… solar. His whole personality was beaming all the time, and he loved that about him. Magnus cleared his throat and realized that Dark Pit was glaring at him. "I really don't want to seduce him, I somehow just came to realize now how much he really means to me. Since I'm supposed to find someone else, I understand that I never wanted to before… because I love him."

"Well hands off!" Dark Pit warned him, very serious. He eyed over his shoulder and saw that Pit was coming back. He quickly looked off to the side and pretended to be lost in thoughts when the light angel walked up to them with a loud: 'Hi!'. The dark angel glanced at him, uninterested, and went back to his fake thinking.

Magnus, on the other hand, smiled at Pit and invited him to sit down with them. They had to enjoy the rest of the night while they could, because the next day would be dedicated to searching for a mate. Pit nodded and started talking about the few women that were there. Dark Pit came back on the subject of the waitress, rather persistently, and Magnus groaned before he said that no, he was not interested in her, because he didn't feel her. The dark angel shook his head, told him that he couldn't afford to be picky, but Pit intervened and said that it was up to the human to decide. After that, Dark Pit refused to talk and folded his arms, looking off. Magnus and Pit kept on talking, scanning the different girls and chatting about them.

But what they didn't expect was to be abruptly interrupted by a cry of terror amongst the crowd.

The two angels and their human friend looked up, worried that something was happening and that the Underworld army was coming, and saw a woman standing there, next to the dancing floor. She wore a long dress, which looked like a wedding gown, torn apart below the knees. Her wavy red hair fell down to the middle of her back, and her gray eyes were flooded with tears. Her face, as well as her clothes, was covered with dust, dry tears and blood alike. "The Underworld is on its way, they killed my groom!" she claimed.

Dark Pit's eyes widened in terror when he saw her. "Charis."

* * *

 _To be continued…_


End file.
